The U.S. presidential climate envoy John Kerry said in a new interview that he supports the United Arab Emirates’ appointment of a head of a state-run oil company to lead U.N. climate talks in Dubai later this year.
Kerry Tell The Associated Press said on Sunday that ADNOC head Sultan al-Jaber was an “excellent choice” to host the talks, although activists have since criticized him for overwhelming conflicts of interest. His company pumps millions of barrels of crude oil every day.
“I think Dr. Sultan al-Jaber is a fantastic choice because he’s the head of the company. The company knows it needs to transition … and he knows — the UAE’s leadership is committed to the transition,” said the former secretary of state and Democratic president the candidate said.
Kerry highlighted Jaber’s involvement in many renewable energy projects and praised his recent speech in Abu Dhabi.
“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.
Despite plans to boost crude oil production, the UAE has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.
This year’s Conference of the Parties or COP28 will be held at Expo City in Dubai from 30 November to December. 12.