CLIMATE activists have slammed the appointment of the head of a state-run oil company to preside over the UN climate negotiations in Dubai, which begin in November later this year.

Each year, the country hosting the Conference of Parties (Cop) negotiations nominates a person to chair the talks. 

The appointment by the United Arab Emirates of Sultan al-Jaber, head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was backed by US climate envoy John Kerry on Sunday.

Mr Kerry acknowledged that the Emirates and other countries relying on fossil fuels to fund their state coffers face “some balance” ahead.

The former US secretary of state dismissed the idea that Mr Jaber’s appointment should be automatically disqualified due to him leading the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. 

Mr Kerry said: “I think that Dr Sultan al-Jaber is a terrific choice because he is the head of the company. That company knows it needs to transition. 

“He knows — and the leadership of the UAE is committed to transitioning.”

Mr Kerry pointed to a speech Mr Jaber gave on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, in which he called for Cop28 to move “from goals, to getting it done across mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage.”

Mr Jaber also warned that the world “must be honest with ourselves about how much progress we have actually achieved, and how much further and faster we truly need to go.”

But climate activists slammed the nomination.

Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, said the appointment of an oil company CEO posed “an unprecedented and alarming conflict of interest.”

He added: “There can be no place for polluters at a climate conference, least of all presiding over one.”

Alice Harrison of Global Witness was even more blunt: “You wouldn’t invite arms dealers to lead peace talks. So why let oil executives lead climate talks?”

Greenpeace said it was “deeply alarmed” by the appointment of Mr Jaber, adding: “This sets a dangerous precedent, risking the credibility of the UAE and the trust that has been placed in them.” 

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, when asked about whether secretary-general Antonio Guterres thinks someone involved in the fossil fuel industry should lead Cop28, said the UN has “absolutely no involvement” in the appointment.

But he added: “The secretary-general reaffirms that there is no way to avoid a climate catastrophe without ending our addiction to fossil fuels.”