Sometimes, the jokes just write themselves.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be hosting this year’s Conference of the Parties, or COP28, where it’s expected that there will be a lot of carbon-bashing going on throughout the climate conference that will run from November 30 to December 12.
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Did no one tell the UN that the UAE is a very large producer of fossil fuels? If they did, organizers probably gave little thought to the splendid opportunity afforded the UAE to sell its oil and gas.
Documents unearthed by the Center for Climate Reporting show that the UAE is going to use the climate summit to fatten the bank account of the Emirates’ royal family by making advantageous deals with other countries who are pledging to cut their carbon emissions.
Say it ain’t so.
Many of the documents include points relating to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and who the lobbyists are going to target in their pitches to buy UAE products. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber is the president-designate of COP28 and just so happens to be ADNOC’s CEO. The thought that Sultan al-Jaber may have a teensy-tiny conflict of interest apparently never crossed the minds of UAE leadership, although some of the very committed green supporters are objecting to his appointment as president of the conference.
A page pertaining to China states that “we are willing to jointly evaluate international [liquified natural gas] opportunities” and particularly mentions Mozambique, Canada and Australia.
The documents, some of which bear the logo of the global climate conference, also say ADNOC “has identified Brazil as a strategic country for investment” and that securing an endorsement “at the highest level” for a potential deal to buy a Brazilian petrochemical company “is important for us.”
The documents also list as potential discussion points the UAE’s openness to liquefied natural gas trading with Mexico, and the state oil company’s eagerness to expand existing trade with Kenya.
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The irony of a fossil fuel-producing country using the conference on ending fossil fuels to sell more fossil fuels is lost on these climate warriors who want to save our planet.
Besides, it’s racist to point out such minor details.
Related: World’s Oil Producers Are Planning Massive Expansions. But That’s Very, Very Bad
Al-Jaber has already proved to be a hypocrite as he’s made several speeches around the world “to encourage countries to be as ambitious as possible in their climate goals,” according to CBS News.
COP presidents are “expected to act without bias, prejudice, favoritism, caprice, self-interest, preference or deference, strictly based on sound, independent and fair judgment,” the UNFCCC told the BBC. “They are also expected to ensure that personal views and convictions do not compromise or appear to compromise their role and functions as a UNFCCC officer.”
Michael Jacobs, a professor at England’s Sheffield University who focuses on U.N. climate politics, told the BBC that the COP28 team’s actions looked “breathtakingly hypocritical.”
Of course, we see this sort of thing all the time in the climate change mafia. The “do as I say, not as I do” crowd, including China and Russia, don’t care what other nations think. I suspect the UAE won’t care either when all that matters is the sale of oil and gas to as many nations that line up to buy it.
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