COP28 host used climate talks to push for oilpatch deals, including in Canada

A few days before hosting this year's United Nationsclimate conference, allegations are being raised about COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and his willingness to use climate meetings with foreign governments to make oil and gas deals, including with Canada.

BBC News revealed the details on Monday in collaboration with the Centre for Climate Reporting.

Al Jaber already faced controversy for being chosen as president of COP28 because he remains chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world's largest oil producers.

Leaked briefing documents reveal plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations, the BBC reported. They include proposed "talking points," such as one for China thatstates that ADNOC is "willing to jointly evaluate international LNG [liquefied natural gas] opportunities" in countries such as Canada.

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"The documents referred to in the BBC article are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 in meetings," wrote a COP28 spokesperson in an email toCBCNews."It is extremely disappointing to see the BBC use unverified documents in their reporting." The quote was sent by public relations firm Edelman Smithfield, who did not identify the spokesperson by name.

The UN body responsible for the COP28 summit told the BBCthat hosts were expected to act without bias or self-interest. The U.A.E. team told the British broadcaster that "private meetings are private," while not it did not deny using COP28 meetings from July to October to talk business.

Canadian Environment Minister StevenGuilbeaulthas had four to fivemeetings with Al Jaberin the past, said Guilbeault's spokesperson, Kaitlin Power.

"Minister Guilbeault was designated by the COP Presidency as co-facilitator for the means of implementation at COP28," she saidin an email."Their discussions were limited to Minister Guilbeault's ongoing work in this role and focused on multilateral interests, as opposed to the national interests of either country."

In an interview with CBC News, Ben Stockton of the U.K.-based Centrefor Climate Reporting said it's unclear what exact conversations took place with theCanadian government.

"That meeting did go ahead. That was confirmed to us by the Canadian government. But they did say that no commercial interests were raised during that meeting," said Stockton.

"The internal emails and the briefings that we've obtained at the very least raise kind of serious questions about that independence,"he said, referring to Al Jaber'sdual roles.

Conflict of interest concerns

Several international companies already invest in Canada's oilpatch. For instance, the LNG Canada project on the B.C. coast is owned by five companies, including PetroChina and the Korean Gas Corporation.

WATCH | COP28 president is also CEO of the United Arab Emirates national oil company:

How an oil CEO ended up in charge of COP28

9 months ago

Duration 6:16

The president of this years COP28 climate summit in Dubai is also the CEO of the United Arab Emirates national oil company. CBC international climate correspondent Susan Ormiston breaks down how Sultan Al Jaber ended up in the seemingly contradictory role and why some are skeptical hes the right person to negotiate critical climate targets.

Many environmental advocates, including Catherine Abreu, founder and executive director of the advocacy group Destination Zero and a member of Canada's Net Zero Advisory Body, have been critical of the appointment of Al Jaber as COP28 president because of the potential conflict of interest with his role as CEO of ADNOC.

In a social media post, Abreu said Monday's report was shockingbut not surprising, given that the UNhas no conflict-of-interest policy.

"The hosting of climate conferences carries a profound responsibility: to be forthright, equitable, and resolutely courageous in the battle against climate change," Tasneem Essop, executive director of the Climate Action Network, said in a statement.

"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."

More than 70,000 people are expected to attend COP28 in Dubai, which begins on Thursday and is scheduled to end on Dec. 12.