When skepticism won over optimism, a twist in the script changed everything. “Many thought we wouldn't do it,” but he did. COP28 and Dubai will be remembered for opening the door to the end of fossil fuels and next to them will be the name of Sultan bin Ahmed al-Jaber. All of his words, his gestures and his steps have been under the scrutiny of hundreds of people in recent months and, especially, in recent days. An oil man was in charge of commanding the climate summit. The fox taking care of the chickens, as the Spanish proverb says.
Half engineer and half businessman, al-Yaber is an old acquaintance in the climate and oil spheres. An oil magnate, he heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) – the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates -, he has been the man who has fought to open the door for the end of fossil fuels.
Doubts about his presidency began the first minute he was appointed. More than 450 environmental organizations sent a letter to the United Nations demanding his dismissal. “COP presidencies must be free of all influence from fossil fuel companies,” the text stated. “He is the person best placed to challenge the oil and gas sector to deliver the results we need,” Majid Al-Suwaidi, former ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Spain and al-Jaber's right-hand man, warned this newspaper. before the start of the Dubai climate summit.
The key was given in this interview by Al-Suawidi: «For the first time, the president of the COP is a CEO, we have always had politicians or diplomats. Al-Jaber brings a results-delivery mentality and this summit will be very results-oriented, action-oriented and he brings a private sector mentality.
Al-Yáber has commanded this climate summit as a company aimed at delivering results to its shareholders: the inhabitants of the planet. To do this, he surrounded himself with a team of great negotiators and many marketing specialists. In the photos that immortalize the milestones of this COP28, appears, behind al-Yaber, the former head of the International Renewable Agency (Irena), Adnan Amin, and now CEO of the Emirati summit. A man with an authoritative voice in the sector and a lot of influence.
The Emirati team, aware of the challenge before them, putting an end to fossil fuels as responsible for climate change, changed their pace. «A maximum text is always presented and then it ends up being lowered. “This happened in Glasgow,” a COP28 negotiating source told this newspaper. Al-Jaber presented a first “unacceptable”, “disastrous” proposal to, according to his team, “see everyone's red lines.” The positions were completely distant and the summit was on the brink of collapse, but 24 hours later: “We have made history,” he stated. 200 countries agreed on a more or less ambitious text, but it opens the door to saying goodbye to fossil fuels.
In the most tense hours, al-Jaber did not lose his calm. Before the final plenary session, the Emirati manager arrived at his chair with a firm step, knowing himself to be the man of the moment and thinking the phrase that he really wanted to say: “Many thought that we would not do it,” he said. “There you have it,” he would think.
Controversy after controversy
His nomination to head the COP28 has not been the only controversy that al-Yaber has faced during 2023. Before beginning to receive the more than 80,000 accredited to the Dubai summit, the British BBC announced that the plans of the Emirati executives were going beyond the search for a climate agreement and could take advantage of this event to try to expand their businesses, something that would clearly contravene the UN rules for these summits. “Do you think that the United Arab Emirates or I need the COP or the presidency of the COP to establish trade agreements or trade relations?” defended al-Jaber.
However, it was not the last controversy. Days later, and with the event already underway, The Guardian revealed a previous webinar in which the person responsible for the event questioned the scientific evidence and was accused of being a denialist. Al-Jaber had to come forward again at a press conference to emphasize that “the progressive elimination of fossil fuels is inevitable.”
Links with Spain
Attention on the resume of this prominent Emirati businessman has been focused on his management position at Adnoc. However, he is also the head of Masdar, also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a state-owned renewable energy company in the Emirates. The company offers clean energy development and sustainable urban development and is responsible for the development of the city of the same name, which is the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency.
One of its first investments was in Spain, in solar thermal technology. A bet that was affected by problems with the Government of Spain in the last decade. Despite these legal matters in 2020, Masdar announced a joint venture with Cepsa for the development of renewable energy projects in Spain and Portugal. More recently, the green company from Abu Dhabi has signed an alliance with Iberdrola, although its agreement affects an asset in Germany. Masdar bought 49% of the German Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm located in the Baltic Sea from the Spanish energy company for nearly 800 million euros.
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