UAE Names Fossil Fuel CEOs and Climate Activists as Cop28 Advisers

The UAE has appointed 31 people, including fossil fuel executives and climate activists, to its advisory committee for November's Cop28 climate talks. The group includes the chairman of an Indian gas company, the former head of China's National Petroleum Corporation, the former head of British oil firm BP and the CEO of an Emirati oil and gas producer. It also includes the head of the African Climate Foundation, a Bangladeshi veteran fighting against fossil fuels and the former president of the climate-threatened Marshall Islands. The UAE government said the council brought together "climate expertise from thought leaders from countries across six continents". They said it spans "politics, industry, energy, finance, civil society, youth and humanitarian action" and will "provide advice and guidance to the Cop Presidency in the run-up to Cop28 and beyond". But Oil Change International campaigner Romain Ioualalen told Climate Home: "While there has been an evident effort to make the advisory committee inclusive and diverse, it is very worrying to see oil and gas interests being consulted on how to conduct negotiations on gradually phasing out their products. .” (Joe Lo)