The UN's former climate chief said she was "giving up hope" that fossil fuel firms will be part of the solution to warming as pivotal COP28 talks start Thursday in oil-rich United Arab Emirates.

With the UN climate negotiations expected to feature a showdown on the future of fossil fuels, Christiana Figueres expressed concern over reports the UAE planned to use its role as host to strike oil and gas deals.

Figueres, who led the UN climate convention when the landmark Paris deal was struck, told AFP that she had previously championed the idea that the world's polluting coal, oil and gas industries should "sit at the table".

"I'm actually giving up hope on that," she said, adding that it was "unforgivable" that the industries funnelled the bumper profits of recent years into shareholder dividends and lobbying efforts — rather than invest in renewable energy technologies.

She also called for more transparency around fossil fuel influence from the COP presidency, which is held by the UAE's Sultan Al Jaber, who is also head of the Emirates state oil and gas company.

Reacting to BBC reports of leaked documents suggesting the UAE planned to exploit its role organising the climate conference to strike fossil fuel deals, Figueres said if true the claims would mark a "serious breach of the responsibility of the COP presidency".

"It is not a meeting to advance the interests of the oil and gas industry," she told PBS News in a linked interview hosted by the organisation Covering Climate Now.

"This is a convening of all the governments in the world to advance the protection of the planet… precisely because of the negative consequences of mostly the operation of the oil and gas industry."

Jaber strongly denied the BBC reports Wednesday, saying they were "false, not true, incorrect".

Global climate negotiations largely avoided mentioning fossil fuels for decades, until Glasgow's COP26 agreed to "phasedown" unfiltered coal power and the "phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies".

Momentum has built since then on a more ambitious pledge to move away from all fossil fuels and Figueres said an unprecedented surge in renewables and electric vehicles gave her optimism that the world can still achieve its climate goals.

Those centre on the 2015 Paris deal, which saw nearly 200 nations agree to limit global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius since the preindustrial era, and preferably a safer threshold of 1.5C.

– Must try harder –

Figueres, a member of Costa Rica's climate negotiating team before she took the helm of the UN's climate change body from 2010 to 2016, said that deal was signed by leaders out of "enlightened self interest".

But she said that the world was now "horribly close" to the 1.5C limit, with emissions continuing to rise and this year is almost certain to be the hottest in human history.

She called on leaders attending the COP28 meeting to respond to a damning Global Stocktake on the world's climate action shortcomings by both accepting efforts so far have been "completely insufficient" and by doubling down on future action.

One key target, she said, should be fossil fuel subsidies, which the International Monetary Fund has said surged to a record $7 trillion last year — equivalent to around 7 percent of global gross domestic product.

"My outrage is fossil fuel subsidies," said Figueres, adding that she would also be in favour of extra taxation on fossil fuel profits — a suggestion championed by developing countries facing the sharpest impact of accelerating weather extremes.

She said leaders must focus on the need to almost halve emissions by 2030, which the UN's IPCC climate expert panel says is needed to keep 1.5C of warming a possibility.

"If we breach the ceiling that has been established by scientists for 2030, we have a serious problem in our hands, because we will have very likely opened a cascade of tipping points into the ecosystems that negatively affect each other," she said.

"And that will be incredibly damaging to human life, but also to all other life on this planet."

COP28 president denies using climate talks to push oil deals
Dubai (AFP) Nov 29, 2023 –

The Emirati host of the UN climate conference in Dubai denied Wednesday reports that he used his presidency of the crucial talks on global warming to pursue fossil fuels deals.

The allegations against Sultan Al Jaber, who is also CEO of his country's oil giant ADNOC, have fanned long-running suspicions over the wisdom of a petrostate hosting the COP28 talks.

But Jaber, who also chairs a UAE-owned clean energy company, strongly denied reports that he used his position as COP president to pitch new oil and gas investments to governments.

"These allegations are false, not true, incorrect and not accurate," Jaber told reporters on the eve of the talks, which will draw world leaders and tens of thousands of delegates to Dubai over the next two weeks.

"It's an attempt to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency. Let me ask you a question: do you think the UAE or myself will need the COP or the COP presidency to go and establish business deals or commercial relationships?"

Leaked documents obtained by the BBC and the Centre for Climate Reporting alleged that talking points prepared for Jaber for COP meetings with foreign governments pushed joint business opportunities in fossil fuels.

The briefing notes, detailed in reports published on Monday, signalled ADNOC's willingness to work with countries including China, Germany and Egypt to develop oil and gas projects.

"I promise you, never ever did I see these talking points that they refer (to), or that I ever even used such talking points in my discussions," said Jaber.

He said every meeting he conducted with governments or stakeholders as president of the climate talks "has always been centred around one thing and one thing only: and that is my COP28 agenda."

– 'Worst fears' –

But the allegations fuelled persistent scepticism over the suitability of an oil executive leading the world's climate negotiations as governments are pushed to commit to phasing out fossil fuels, something no COP has ever achieved.

Former US vice president Al Gore said the allegations "have confirmed some of the worst fears" around Jaber while former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the COP28 host had been caught "red handed".

"The global community's gaze is fixed upon these leaders, expecting them to embody the very essence of integrity, untainted by bias and national or personal gain," said Tasneem Essop, executive director of the Climate Action Network International.

"Any deviation from this path represents a betrayal of the trust placed in them by the world and a failure in their duty to future generations," he wrote on X.

But Jaber has weathered other controversies over his alleged conflict of interest since being appointed COP president earlier this year, including calls from US and European lawmakers for his replacement.

Supporters, including US climate envoy John Kerry, say Jaber is uniquely positioned to broker compromise at the COP talks, where world leaders will be confronted by their lack of progress in curbing global warming in a record-breaking hot year.

The 50-year-old bristled at accusations that he has a conflict of interest, touting his years of work in climate and sustainability, and success in drawing out commitments from big oil and gas players.

"We must incentivise, encourage, and motivate everyone to be part of the solution… rather than sidelining them or leaving them behind, or pointing fingers at them," Jaber said.