The bar was low for the success of this year’s COP28 climate conference, which was hosted by the United Arab Emirates, the world’s seventh largest oil producer. Ever since Sultan Al-Jaber, the head of the UAE’s national oil company, was announced as COP28 president in January, many observers approached the conference all but certain that the UAE would put its thumb on the scale in favor of oil interests. Indeed, leaked emails that emerged the week of the gathering showed that Al-Jaber’s team had prepared briefing documents outlining oil deals to discuss at COP28.
Many of those who were most critical of Al-Jaber ahead of the conference now say their fears have proven unfounded. For the first time in the 28 years that world leaders have been meeting under the auspices of the United Nations to solve the climate crisis, negotiators have explicitly agreed to a transition away from fossil fuels — within this decade, no less, with an ultimate goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
