Al-Jaber on the defensive

Dec 04, 2023

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WELCOME TO DAY 6 of COP28 in Dubai, where high drama is engulfing the president of the climate talks, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber. The COP chief, who also happens to moonlight as the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has been forced on the defensive as he seeks to quell the uproar over his comments to Mary Robinson — aka the Mother Teresa of the climate world — that there’s “no science out there” showing that phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels.

When you’re explaining, you’re losing: “We very much believe and respect the science,” al-Jaber insisted at a hastily convened press conference on Monday. “I honestly think there is some confusion out there, and misrepresentation,” he said — before adding the jibe: “I am quite surprised with the constant and repeated attempts to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency.”

John Kerry responds … with the understatement of the year: Speaking to POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry said al-Jaber’s comments may need “clarification.” Referring to the COP28 chief, Kerry said: “Look, he’s gotta decide how he wants to phrase it, but the bottom line is this COP needs to be committed to phasing out all unabated fossil fuel.”

Still BFFs: Kerry’s comments to POLITICO suggest he isn’t backing away from his long-standing support for al-Jaber — despite ongoing concerns about the COP chief’s other role as the CEO of ADNOC. “Maybe it came out the wrong way, I don’t know; I think he was saying that the science doesn’t dictate the methodology that you have to use. You have to choose between many different ways of doing it,” Kerry said. Be sure to listen to the full interview with Anne when it lands later this week on POLITICO’s Power Play podcast.

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ENERGY DAY

GOOD COP, BAD COP: It’s not just Big Oil that has a heavy presence at the U.N.’s climate talks. Today, all eyes are on energy and big industry.

Big polluters: They’re not quite the bad boys of the climate world — that honor falls to the fossil fuel giants and the petro-states — but the big cement, steel and chemical industries collectively come a close second. Together, they’re responsible for a whopping 20 percent of global emissions.

Baby steps: A new report by CDP and Boston Consulting Group shows these big polluters are at least trying to clean up their act. “These guys are hard to abate and heavy emitters; the manufacturing process of steel or cement naturally emits a lot,” BCG’s Diana Dimitrova told me as we battled the noise — and chaotic fun — of the Knowledge Hub in the Green Zone. “We use these products in a ton of things, and we don’t have substitutes. You can never really get these products to zero, so the best we can do is to try and make the process more energy efficient, more green,” she said.

One example: Some in the steel industry are replacing traditional glass furnaces (which burn coal) with electric arc furnaces (which can use renewable electricity).

DON’T FORGET UKRAINE

REMEMBERING THE WAR: Frantic talks on the Israel-Hamas war gatecrashed discussions on the sidelines of COP28 as leaders gathered late last week. But let’s not forget the war in Ukraine. While President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s government is desperately trying to keep international attention on Ukraine amid fears that U.S. financial support could dry up, it’s also keen to make a positive investment case to the world.

Good news story: On Monday, the Ukrainian Pavilion was the site of some good news, as Ukraine’s biggest energy company DTEK and Danish wind manufacturer Vestas signed a deal to complete the largest wind farm in Eastern Europe.

The message: Ukraine can still be a committed player in the green transition, even while fighting an unprovoked and existential war.

Green recovery: “This sends a signal to the world that you can build renewable projects, you can attract investments to Ukraine,” DTEK’s Chief Executive Maxim Timchenko told Playbook. The investment will allow the completion of a project — just 100 kilometers from the front line — that began before Russia’s full-scale invasion. It will bring the total capacity of the plant to 384 megawatts, with construction due to start in the second quarter of 2024.

Rebuilding and refocusing: In a reminder of the devastation wrought by Moscow, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Energy Svitlana Grynchuk told Playbook that 50 percent of her country’s generation capacity has been destroyed because of the war. “Yes, we lost a lot, but we also have plans about how to rebuild the Ukrainian energy sector in a green, sustainable way,” she added.

See for yourself: Playbook can heartily recommend checking out the installation at the Ukraine Pavilion which illustrates how a house — transported directly from southern Ukraine — was almost completely inundated after the bombing of the Kakhovka Dam earlier this year. The exhibition also captures the environmental devastation of the war, from its impact on crops and soil to the impact of mines on the land.

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DISPATCH FROM THE BLUE (AND GREEN) ZONES

PSA — PAY ATTENTION! It’s a circus on the main thoroughfare in the Green Zone, with golf buggies, scooters and pedestrians vying for space, and stewards frantically trying to move people out of the way of oncoming traffic. Watch out for the specially designated “buggy lanes” on either side. Thankfully pedestrians should not be in mortal danger given the speed limit is a modest 8 kilometers per hour — as indicated by the chalked signs on the ground.

CULTURE CORNER: Fancy a bit of shadow puppetry? Head to the Malaysia Pavilion today. A group of performers will be presenting a show using this ancient form of story-telling at 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

SPOTTED … in line waiting to enter the Blue Zone on Monday: an impeccably dressed delegate carrying a Nobu bag. Seems displaying your take-out bag from last night’s dinner at a celebrity restaurant is the latest status symbol of the global elite.

GEN Z COP: Speaking of Insta moments, Playbook was intrigued to see directions to an “Influencers Hub” on the fifth floor in the Green Zone’s media center. Playbook’s too old to recognize the TikTok stars inside — but do let us know if you spot Khaby Lame mocking a COP life hack.

SPOTTED

— Clinton-aide Huma Abedin expertly shepherding a smiling Hillary Clinton through crowds of adoring fans.

— U.K. MPs Thérèse Coffey and Philip Dunne and Baroness Charlotte Vere of Norbiton, a member of the House of Lords, having coffee and a chat in the U.K. Pavilion.

— At the We Mean Business Coalition’s Fossil to Clean reception last night at Vyne: Juliette White, AstraZeneca, Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, Laura Clarke, Client Earth, Ameer Azim, BSR, Cate Hight, Bain & Company, Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation.

PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: HUMZA YOUSAF

GREAT SCOT: Playbook caught up with Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf before he flew out of Dubai last night. (Side note: He stayed a lot longer than U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who spent more time in the air traveling to and from COP than actually at the event.)

KEEPING THEM HONEST: “I think countries like Scotland and others who are not necessarily parties to the [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change], whether devolved governments, regions, or nations like our own, have got a really important role to play to try to make sure that parties to the UNFCCC are ambitious and making good in terms of their commitments,” said Yousaf, who is the head of a party that favors Scottish independence.

DIFFERENT PLACE, SAME PROBLEMS: They may feel worlds apart, but Scotland and the UAE have more in common than you think. Not only have they both hosted U.N. climate summits (COP26 was in Glasgow), but both are also struggling with a daunting reality: They can’t depend on their deep wells of fossil fuel resources forever.

Scotland has a particular conundrum: A central argument of its independence movement for decades has been that a Scottish government — not the U.K. government in London — should have control over the massive North Sea oil reserves off the coast of Scotland.

Going green: The SNP has been trying to tread a fine line, assuring Scottish oil workers that it will help them navigate the green transition, while committing to a sustainable future. “Nobody in the Scottish government believes in anything other than taking oil and gas workers with us on the transition,” Yousaf said. “But we cannot extract every single drop of oil and gas … out of the North Sea. If we did that right across the world, then we’re never going to get close to 1.5 degrees, let alone 2 degrees. We need to be serious about tackling the climate crisis.”

Blame London: Yousaf’s Scottish National Party was furious about Rishi Sunak pushing ahead with new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea last month. “This is not the time to be awarding 100 new oil and gas licenses,” said Yousaf. The British government is “now seen as a government that unfortunately … is not serious about its responsibility to the planet,” he added.

TODAY’S AGENDA

— Atlantic Council, Global Energy Forum, Connect Conference Center, Green Zone, 2:30 p.m. Speakers include: John Kerry, COP26 President Alok Sharma, U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, Saudi Arabia chief climate negotiator Khalid Abuleif.

— Day 2 of the Sustainable Innovation Forum; Madinat Arena, Madinat Jumeirah Conference Center, 8:30 a.m. Speakers include Jim Skea, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Patricia Espinosa, former executive secretary of UNFCCC; Tom Steyer, Galvanize Climate Solutions.

— Day 2 of Bloomberg Green at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. Speakers include Al Gore, Ray Dalio of Bridgewater; Sherry Madera, CDP, Talal Hasan, founder of 44.01, Heather McGray, Climate Justice Resilience Fund.

— Launch of Uganda’s Energy Transition Plan, Uganda Pavilion, Blue Zone, 10:20 a.m.

— Launch of KPMG report on barriers to scaling renewables, 1 p.m., Thematic Area, Blue Zone.

— Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies, Organized by World Economic Forum, 4 p.m.

— Engineering for a Sustainable Future: Decarbonization technologies and solutions, 3:30 p.m. at the Italian Pavilion, Blue Zone.

AND FINALLY

HOT IN DUBAI: Get in touch with any tips and party invitations.

THANKS TO: Zia Weise, Charlie Cooper, Karl Mathiesen, Sara Schonhardt, Jack Lahart, Seb Starcevic.

Global Playbook couldn’t happen without Global Playbook Editor Zoya Sheftalovich.

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The race is on: for green growth, for net zero, for energy security. We need to be bold, today. The transition to a net zero energy system is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. If we get this right, we can deliver a world that is cleaner, fairer and more secure. But this won’t happen if the benefits of renewable energy aren’t shared across the world. Right now, most investment is in higher income northern hemisphere countries. But the future growth in energy demand will come from the so-called Global South. SSE and partners have been working with the Smith School of Business at Oxford University on a 10-point action plan to encourage investment to take full advantage of the massive opportunity the Global South has to decarbonise. SSE. We power change. Find out more.