Fake social media profiles have been spreading propaganda messages about Cop28 and attacking criticism of its host, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in what experts called an “organised” campaign. Purporting to be genuine people based in the UAE, scores of individual Twitter accounts publish similar positive content and defend the UAE in replies to posts...
Controversy surrounds climate negotiations as oil group CEO appointed COP28 president
Representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Bonn, Germany, from June 5 to 15, to prepare for the December climate conference. At the heart of the debates is the end of fossil fuels and the creation of a new fund for loss and damage. A technical session to prepare for the world climate conference...
UAE defends Big Oil’s role at UN climate summit it will host
BERLIN (AP) — A senior United Arab Emirates official says the Gulf nation wants the U.N. climate summit it’s hosting later this year to deliver “game-changing results” for international efforts to curb global warming, but doing so will require having the fossil fuel industry at the table. Environmental campaigners have slammed the presence of oil...
UAE: States must urge the United Arab Emirates to reform its dismal rights record to help ensure a successful climate meeting
States participating in a climate meeting starting on 5 June in Bonn, which will help set the agenda for the COP28 in Dubai later this year, should urge the United Arab Emirates to improve its dismal human rights record to ensure a successful conference, Amnesty International said today. An Amnesty International briefing, The Human Rights Situation...
UAE using Wikipedia to ‘control narrative’ amid criticism of oil boss leading COP28
Abu Dhabi: COP28 president, Sultan Al Jaber has been accused of attempting to “greenwash” his image after it emerged that members of his team had edited Wikipedia pages that highlighted his role as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the media reported. Work by Al Jaber’s team on his and the climate...
PACJA Statement in Support of US and EU Law Makers’ Letter On Cop28 Presidency
On May 23, 2023, Lawmakers from the European Parliament and the US Congress released a hard-hitting Statement where they added their voice to millions of others who have remained steadfast in urging the United Arab Emirates, the host of the UNFCCC-COP28, to withdraw Sultan Al Jaber as the COP President-Designate. The letter, addressed to President...
Oil billionaire Mukesh Ambani and famed activist Sunita Narain are both on the COP28 board
The UAE has appointed 31 people to the advisory board for the upcoming COP28 climate summit. The group represents a mix of former executives of oil companies, climate campaigners, energy experts, and corporate leaders such as BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink and Siemens’s supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser. Two Indians sit on the board, embodying the polar...
Dubai mulls quitting green city club over lackluster climate efforts
The city state warns it will be ‘inordinately costly’ to meet its climate promises. This article is part of POLITICO’s Global Policy Lab: Living Cities, a collaborative journalism project exploring the future of cities. Chapter 3 of the project is presented by Holcim. Dubai’s underwhelming efforts to cuts its greenhouse gas emissions are causing it to consider...
Cop28 host UAE tried to weaken global shipping’s climate ambition
Campaigners said the UAE’s opposition to zero emissions by 2050 was “alarming” given the country will host Cop28 climate talks in December The United Arab Emirates tried to weaken global shipping’s climate target last week, sparking fears that it will lack ambition as host of the Cop28 climate summit. According to four sources in the...
COP28 president says fossil fuels still have a role to play, prompting concerns about climate summit’s goals
The president of the UN’s COP28 climate conference has said that he sees a future for fossil fuels – even as scientists say the world must rapidly transition to clean energy – in remarks that have raised concerns about a backsliding on climate commitments. Sultan Al Jaber, who will oversee the UN’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai in November,...