Why UAE oil boss is the right person to preside over the upcoming UN climate summit

IN POLITICS, it’s easy to shake a fist. It’s harder to shake a hand. But more progress is made through cooperation than conflict. That truth is worth bearing in mind as the latest dust-up over the next United Nations (UN) climate conference unfolds.

Recently, a group of elected officials from the US and Europe signed a letter demanding the removal of Dr Sultan Al Jaber as the president-designate of this fall’s UN climate convening, COP28, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many signers of the letter, who included some of the most far-left members of Congress, also opposed the selection of the UAE as the host country for COP28. How can a climate conference, they argued, take place in an oil-producing state? The answer is: We need oil producers at the table – including the US, which is the largest oil producer in the world. And the UAE would not be the first oil-rich nation to host a COP.

The primary objection to Dr Al Jaber is that he’s the head of the UAE’s national oil company. But he’s also founding CEO and chairman of its renewable energy company, Masdar, and under his leadership, the UAE has become one of the world’s largest investors in renewable energy. Masdar seeks to generate 100 GW of renewable power by the end of the decade, a more ambitious goal than some larger European nations have set. If every other oil company leader were making similar investments, we would be in a much stronger position to reduce global emissions.