COP28 will be the UAE’s biggest event in 2023

COP28 will be the UAE’s biggest event in 2023

The decision to put the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in charge of this year’s COP28 climate talks in the United Arab Emirates has been much talked about. There is an alternative perspective on the appointment of Sultan Al Jaber as president-designate of what is being seen as the most crucial climate-change summit since the Paris treaty was agreed at COP21 in 2015. Few people are more qualified for the job than Al Jaber who, for the better part of two decades, has had an unrivalled overview and a unique understanding of both sides of the energy equation. We all know that the entire planet must transition urgently from dependence on fossil fuels to sustainable alternatives. What’s needed to make that happen, however, are solutions, and developing them at planet-saving scale is going to require three things: money, broad energy expertise, and self-interested motivation. As the chief executive of ADNOC, one of the world’s largest oil companies, and as a citizen of a country facing its own existential global warming crisis, Al Jaber has all three. US climate envoy John Kerry tweeted that his “unique combination” of roles will “help bring all of the necessary stakeholders