Bloomberg responds to critics…Al Jaber is a great ally for climate and the UAE is a leader in climate action

The selection of Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, appointed president of the COP28 Conference of the Parties, is still being praised by major international media outlets, which enumerated the man’s competence extensively, against those who tried to offend him after assigning him the file of hosting the United Arab Emirates for the upcoming climate summit.
It was last January 12, a historic day, after Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyanة the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Minister of Presidential Affairs, under the guidance of Sheikh Mohammed ben Zayed Al Nahyane, President of the UAE, issued a decision to assign Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE’s special envoy for change Climate Change President-designate of the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
In the midst of the positive reactions to Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber’s selection for this position, and his pioneering role in climate action, and support for efforts to shift to clean energy, an international certificate came from the US “Bloomberg” economic agency, which is one of the most prominent international media, which is neutral and sober in its reports. , to shed light on the efficiency of Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber.

Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber… climate ally
“The head of an oil company may seem a strange choice to lead the next global climate summit that will be held under the umbrella of the United Nations, but environmental activists must give him a chance,” was the editorial of an article entitled “The climate needs an ally like Sultan Al Jaber,” published by the American Bloomberg Agency, on Friday. February 24th.
The US agency confirmed that Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, the appointed president of the COP28 Conference, is “the ally that the climate movement needs,” noting that his long and historical credit makes him able to meet the requirements of the position, especially in this critical period for the climate.
Returning to the record of Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, we will find that he is pregnant with great responsibilities that he succeeded in carrying out to the fullest, as he was appointed twice as the UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change (from 2010 to 2016 and from 2020 until now), and he also participated in more than 10 conferences. Previous parties to the climate, including the historic conference “COP21”, which was held in Paris in 2015, which are important experiences that make him able to read the scene more generally, and provide an important vision on the climate and its issues.
In addition, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber leads behind him a distinguished and long path in the field of management, economics and in the renewable energy sector, where he played a pivotal role in developing and expanding the renewable energy assets portfolio of the UAE internally and externally, all of which are factors that enable him to play an important role in leading the process. Intergovernmental organizations to bridge views and harmonize opinions to reach a global consensus to raise the ceiling of climate ambition, in cooperation with a wide and diverse group of partners and stakeholders, including the business sector and civil society.
Data prompted the US “Bloomberg” agency to confirm that most world leaders supported the appointment of Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber as appointed president of the Conference of the Parties “COP 28”, including President Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, John Kerry, as the IAEA highlighted in its article, on the recent visit of Dr. Sultan Al Jaber to India, during which he explained the seriousness of the challenge awaiting the world, and conveyed the UAE’s desire to help India achieve its ambitious goals in the field of clean energy.
On this visit, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber called for more investment in carbon removal technology, including nuclear and hydrogen energy. He endorsed an inclusive society approach that mobilizes every sector and calls for more development banks and financial institutions. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also spoke about the need to mitigate the climate impact of fossil fuels during the global transition to clean energy.
Many environmentalists laughed when the United Nations announced that the United Arab Emirates would host its 2023 climate summit, known as COP. A climate summit in an oil state? The laughter grew louder when the UAE announced that Sultan Al Jaber, the chairman of its national oil firm, would become president. Al Jaber is precisely the type of ally the environmental movement needs, therefore environmentalists should stop complaining.

During a recent trip to India, Al Jaber emphasized the magnitude of the forthcoming task. He expressed the UAE’s desire to assist India in achieving its ambitious clean energy objectives. He advocated for increased investment in decarbonization technologies, such as nuclear and hydrogen energy. In addition, he supported an all-society approach that mobilizes all sectors and places greater demands on development banks and financial institutions.

During the worldwide transition to clean energy, he also addressed the elephant in the room: the necessity of mitigating the climate impact of fossil fuels. “There is no conflict of interest,” he stated, pointing to his detractors. “It is in everyone’s best interest for the energy industry to collaborate with everyone.”

A distinguished and long career of climate action
Bloomberg Agency highlighted in its article that Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber is the founding CEO and current chairman of Masdar, which aims to generate 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by the end of the decade, a goal that exceeds those set by some major European countries. If every country aims to produce as much renewable energy per capita over the next seven years as the UAE, the battle against climate change could shift.
The same source added that in 2006, under the directives of the leadership of the UAE, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber took over the leadership of the team concerned with establishing the “Masdar” company with the aim of focusing on accelerating efforts to diversify renewable energy sources in the country, the region and the world.
In this regard, “Masdar” has contributed to achieving the UAE’s goals in the field of renewable energy and has played a pivotal role in diversifying and doubling the portfolio of renewable energy assets for the UAE and has launched significant investments in renewable and clean energy projects in more than 40 countries around the world, including many Island and African countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Masdar is working to enhance its production capacity to reach 100 gigawatts of renewable energy within its portfolio of local and international projects by 2030.
“Bloomberg” agency considered that Sultan Al-Jaber’s task was not easy, especially in light of the doubling of pressure on rich countries to fulfill their financial obligations towards the developing world, and prompting development banks and sovereign wealth funds to expand their ambitions. and help overcome barriers to increased private sector investment in clean energy projects, particularly in the developed world.
What distinguishes the professional career of Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber is that he followed a practical and responsible approach to achieving a realistic, practical and fair transition in the energy sector that contributes to the implementation of effective climate action, ensuring energy security and availability in conjunction with achieving economic growth.

A strong slap for climate activists and a victory for the UAE and Dr. Al Jaber
Bloomberg agency took advantage of the opportunity to write the article, to confirm that the negative reactions that followed the United Nations announcement that the United Arab Emirates would host the Climate Summit “COP 28” for the year 2023, by environmental and climate activists, are meaningless, highlighting that “environmental activists, They wondered how an oil-producing country could organize a climate conference, and the fact that the head of its national oil company, Minister Sultan al-Jaber, presided over the summit only added to the disapproval of those activists.
Bloomberg called on environmental activists to stop grumbling and to deal positively with the issue, adding that Sultan Al-Jaber is exactly the right ally to defend their cause, stressing that “there is no escaping the fact that the world still needs oil and gas and will remain so for some time.” , a fact that al-Jaber’s critics ignore.
The agency drew attention to Al-Jaber’s statement that “combating climate change is not a matter of ending all oil and gas production immediately, but rather a matter of developing enough clean energy to get rid of it as quickly as possible. And to do so in a way that boosts economies and raises standards of living, through ‘pro-growth’ policies.” and climate at the same time.
In this context, an article by “Bloomberg” agency talked about the importance of the UAE hosting the “COP28” climate summit, indicating that its president, Minister Sultan Al Jaber, is the right person in the right place. Due to his great knowledge and experience in the field, he knows very well how to be an ally and supporter of climate activists, countries and governments in the world that seek to reduce carbon emissions and protect the climate. It has the best applications, means and solutions for the transition to environmental sustainability without reducing countries’ need for fuel.
The International Economic Agency stated that Al Jaber has an interest in the clean energy industry, and he is the founding CEO and current chairman of Masdar, which aims to generate 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by the end of the decade. It is a target that exceeds those set by some of the larger European countries.
As the same source highlighted, if each country aims to produce the same amount of renewable energy per capita over the next seven years as the United Arab Emirates did, then climate change can be combated.
Al Jaber has a financial investment in oil extraction, but he also has a stake in the renewable energy sector. He is the founder CEO and current head of Masdar, which aspires to generate 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by the end of the decade, a goal that exceeds those of several of the larger European countries. If every nation planned to create as much renewable energy per capita as the UAE over the next seven years, the fight against climate change could be revolutionized.

To their credit, the majority of world leaders, including President Joe Biden’s special climate envoy John Kerry, have backed Al Jaber’s selection and the UN’s choice to hold this year’s COP in the UAE. Yet, skepticism is inevitable, which places Al Jaber under further pressure to deliver.

As he prepares for the summit in November, Al Jaber must intensify pressure on wealthy nations to honor their financial obligations to the developing world, urge development banks and sovereign-wealth funds to expand their ambitions, and assist in removing obstacles to greater private-sector investment in clean-energy projects, particularly in the developed world.

He may also remove some of the public’s doubts about his selection by targeting coal-fired power facilities, the greatest impediment to significant climate progress. Renewable energy is now less expensive than coal power in the majority of the world, and when coal still has a pricing advantage (typically due to subsidies), new public-private partnerships — such as the one the G-20 formed with Indonesia last year — can help nations accelerate the transition.

However, there is a difference between delivering an effective speech and motivating the world to action. In light of this, it was encouraging to hear Al Jaber emphasize in his remarks that this year’s summit must be “a COP of action” that advances the globe “beyond talking about goals to really achieving them.”

“Environmental activists will properly hold Al Jaber accountable for putting words into action, but they should also recognize that considerably more can be accomplished by accepting him as an ally as opposed to dismissing him as an adversary”, Bloomberg agency concludes in its article.