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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry backed the United Arab Emirates’ decision to appoint the chief executive of a state-run oil company to chair upcoming U.N. climate talks in Dubai, citing his work on renewable energy projects.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, the former U.S. secretary of state acknowledged that the UAE and other countries that rely on fossil fuels to fund their treasuries face the problem of finding “some kind of balance” in the future.
However, he dismissed the idea that Sultan al-Jabir’s appointment was automatically disqualified due to his leadership of ADNOC. However, when authorities announced his nomination on Thursday, activists equated it with asking “arms dealers to lead peace talks”.
“I think Dr. Sultan al-Jaber was a fantastic choice because he was the head of the company. That company knew it needed to transform,” Kerry said after attending an energy conference in the UAE capital. “He knows — and the UAE’s leadership is committed to transformation.”
Still, Abu Dhabi plans to increase its crude oil production from 4 million barrels per day to 5 million barrels per day, despite the UAE’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2050 – a goal that remains difficult to assess and which the UAE has yet to fully explain. how will get there.
Kerry referred to a speech Al-Jaber gave in Abu Dhabi on Saturday in which he called for the upcoming COP — or Conference of the Parties — to “move from aiming to accomplish mitigation, adaptation, financing and loss and damage”. Al-Jaber also warned that the world “must be honest with ourselves about how much progress we’ve actually made, and how much further and faster we really need to go.”
“He made it clear that we can’t move fast enough. We have to reduce emissions. We have to start dramatically accelerating that transition,” Kerry said. “So I’m very confident that the right questions will be on the table and they will respond to them and lead countries to recognize their responsibilities.
Each year, the country hosting the UN negotiations nominates a person to lead the talks. Hosts usually choose an experienced diplomat because navigating talks between competing countries and their interests is difficult. The nominee’s position as “COP Chair” is confirmed by delegates at the beginning of talks, usually without objection.
Al-Jaber is a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He also led a once-ambitious project to build a $22 billion “carbon-neutral” city on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi — an effort that was scaled back after the 2008 global financial crisis devastated the UAE. Today, he also serves as chairman of Masdar, a clean energy company that grew out of that project.
Activists, however, remain skeptical of al-Jaber. During COP27 in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in November, countries including India and the United States called for a gradual reduction in oil and gas use, but that never sparked public discussion.
Activists fear something similar could happen in the UAE when the COP is held for the second year in a row in the Middle Eastern country dependent on fossil fuel sales.
Asked about that fear, Kerry said: “I don’t think the UAE is involved in changing that.”
“There will be a level of scrutiny — I think it will be very constructive,” said the former U.S. senator and 2004 presidential candidate. “You know, it’s going to help people stay online.”
“I think this is an era, a new era of accountability,” he added.
Still, the UAE and the U.S. maintain close military ties despite federal policy decisions that Washington does not like.
Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port is the most frequent port of call for the U.S. Navy outside the United States. About 3,500 U.S. troops are deployed in the country, including the Al Dhafra air base in Abu Dhabi and the naval outpost in Fujairah. The UAE has about $29 billion in pending defense sales with the US, including the purchase of its state-of-the-art air defense system, or THAAD.
For Europeans in particular, Russia’s war on Ukraine has led to the continent’s reliance on Moscow gas to heat their homes in winter. Despite being helped by an unseasonably warm winter, Europeans are still trying to get gas from elsewhere, while also looking to renewables to fill any gaps they may have.
“Oil dictators are able to control their future, their prices and their economy with reckless behavior, which is not in the interest of any country,” Kerry said, referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“In a way, something it produces that will make things better is Europe’s strong commitment to massive reductions in emissions and a complete shift in the nature of energy supply,” Kerry said.
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
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