World
Al Gore calls out UAE climate summit leads’ ‘ridiculous’ conflicts of interest
By Jake Beardslee · December 10, 2023
In brief…
- He criticized appointment of oil CEO Sultan al-Jaber as conference president
- Gore accused al-Jaber of conflict of interest and planning production increase
- He warned world losing patience on climate action amid hottest year on record
Former Vice President Al Gore criticized the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for hosting the 2023 COP28 climate change summit, calling it “ridiculous” given the nation’s status as a major oil producer. In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Gore took issue with the UAE appointing Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of the state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC, as president of the conference.
Gore accused al-Jaber and ADNOC of planning a significant expansion of oil and gas production “the minute the gavel bangs” to close COP28. He said al-Jaber has a conflict of interest from serving as both the head of a major fossil fuel company and the climate summit. “The people of our world deserve to have some confidence that this process has integrity,” Gore stated. He warned that the world is losing patience on climate action as 2023 is on pace to be the hottest year on record.
Gore previously criticized al-Jaber’s selection and said it amounted to “abusing the public’s trust.” The longtime environmental advocate said the appointment calls into question the integrity of the proceedings. He said fossil fuel interests have long tried to manipulate the process. Gore stressed that the increasingly dire scientific warnings about global warming demand sincere climate leadership.