UN Climate Summit Chair: "No Scientific Evidence Linking Fossil Fuels and Global Warming"

Chair of Climate Summit but... Fossil Fuel Advocacy
Concerns of Disruption at COP28 Held in Oil-Producing UAE

The chairman of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), has sparked global controversy for making remarks in support of fossil fuels. Environmental groups, already dissatisfied with the fact that the climate summit is being held in the UAE, a major oil-producing country, have strongly opposed and criticized the remarks, raising concerns about potential disruptions to COP28.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to CNN on the 4th (local time), Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, COP28 chairman, faced criticism after it was revealed that during a conversation with former UN climate change envoy Mary Robinson on the 21st of last month, he dismissed the claim that fossil fuels must be reduced to prevent global warming by saying there is "no scientific basis or scenario" for it.

In the same discussion, he also stated, "Unless the world wants to go back to caves like in prehistoric times, a phased reduction of fossil fuels will not lead to sustainable socio-economic development," strongly defending the use of fossil fuels. After the remarks were made public, Al Jaber initially denied ever making such statements but later reversed his position, further fueling the controversy.

The selection of the UAE as the host and Al Jaber as chairman has faced strong criticism from environmental groups. The UAE, the host country of this conference, is one of the world's largest oil producers, and Al Jaber is the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology as well as the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), leading an oil company. As a result, as soon as the UAE took on the role of chairing the climate summit, a global debate over so-called 'Green Washing'?the practice of improving a country's image on environmental issues?began.

Further controversy arose when it was revealed that the UAE intended to use its chairmanship status to promote its fossil fuel exports. According to the BBC, the UAE planned to promote and propose deals involving its oil and gas companies to officials from 15 countries, including China, Brazil, and Germany. In response to the growing controversy, on the 1st, the UAE announced the establishment of the 'Altera' fund, which will support climate crisis response with a budget of $30 billion (approximately 39 trillion KRW), attempting to mitigate the backlash. However, severe opposition continues, especially from environmental groups.