UN climate chief’s call to phase out fossil fuels may be ignored at talks

Jun 05, 2023

Karah Rucker Anchor/Producer

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Producer), Stacey Chamberlain (Digital Producer)

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A climate conference hosted by the United Nations will happen this fall, but despite calls to phase out fossil fuels, the topic may not even be part of the discussion. The U.N. climate chief says it’s a vital part of the conversation surrounding the Earth’s warming, and claims world leaders need to discuss a process to completely phase out fossil fuels. But what makes the agenda isn’t up to him, it’s up to Sultan Al Jaber.

Al Jaber is the president of this year’s negotiations and the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. His company is the 12th largest oil producing company in the world, producing 2 million barrels of oil a day with a goal to increase drilling to 5 million barrels a day by 2027.

The man poised to lead the world’s conversation on climate change is also part of a fossil fuel money machine.

This story is getting a lot of attention across the media landscape. There are more than 50 news sources reporting the story. While left-leaning outlets are reporting that conference leadership could interfere with discussions of phasing out fossil fuels, right-leaning outlets are underreporting the story.

There is a rotating leader of climate talks each year for the U.N. For the past two years, the person in charge has been largely for oil and gas. In 2022, the leader was the foreign minister of Egypt, a nation with an economy heavily reliant on natural gas exports. The idea of phasing out fossil fuels never made it on the agenda under that leadership.

Al Jaber has previously said the real issue is phasing out emissions of fossil fuels by promoting carbon capture technology to remove pollutants from the air. The U.N. climate chief has said that won’t be enough, arguing that phasing out fossil fuels themselves is an imminent discussion needed among world leaders to curb global warming.

Tags: Climate Change, Egypt, Fossil Fuels, Media Landscape, United Nations

KARAH RUCKER: A CLIMATE CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS WILL HAPPEN THIS FALL – BUT DESPITE CALLS TO PHASE OUT FOSSIL FUELS, THE TOPIC MAY NOT EVEN BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION, DUE IN PART TO WHO IS HOSTING THE TALKS AND WHERE.

THE UN CLIMATE CHIEF SAYS ITS A VITAL PART OF THE CONVERSATION ON THE EARTH’S WARMING. CLAIMING WORLD LEADERS IN ATTENDANCE NEED TO DISCUSS A PROCESS TO COMPLETELY PHASE OUT FOSSIL FUELS. BUT IT’S NOT HIS DECISION ON WHAT ITEMS MAKE THE AGENDA.

INSTEAD — IT’S “SULTAN AL-JABER. THE PRESIDENT OF THIS YEAR’S NEGOTIATIONS – WHO ALSO IS THE HEAD OF “ABU DHABI NATIONAL OIL COMPANY” – THE 12TH LARGEST OIL PRODUCING COMPANY IN THE WORLD — PRODUCING 2 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL A DAY WITH A GOAL TO INCREASE DRILLING TO 5 MILLION BARRELS A DAY BY 2027.

THE MAN POISED TO LEAD THE WORLD’S CONVERSATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE —

IS ALSO PART OF A FOSSIL FUEL MONEY MACHINE.

THIS STORY IS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION ACROSS THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE.

THERE’S MORE THAN 50 NEWS SOURCES REPORTING THE STORY – BUT A MAJORITY OF THEM ARE LEFT-LEANING. IT’S BEING LEFT ALONE BY MANY RIGHT-LEANING OUTLETS. WHILE LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS ARE REPORTING THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CONFERENCE COULD INTERFERE WITH AN AGENDA ITEM TO DISCUSS THE PHASING OUT OF FOSSIL FUELS.

IT’S A ROTATING LEADER OF CLIMATE TALKS EVERY YEAR FOR THE U-N.

BUT FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS – THE PERSON IN CHARGE HAS BEEN LARGELY “PRO OIL AND GAS”. LAST YEAR — IT WAS THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF EGYPT —

A NATION WITH AN ECONOMY HEAVILY RELIANT ON NATURAL GAS EXPORTS.

THE IDEA OF PHASING OUT FOSSIL FUELS NEVER MADE IT ON THE AGENDA UNDER THEIR LEADERSHIP.

AL-JABER HAS PREVIOUSLY SAID THE REAL ISSUE IS PHASING OUT *EMISSIONS OF FOSSIL FUELS BY PROMOTING CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY TO REMOVE POLLUTANTS FROM THE AIR. WHILE THE U-N CLIMATE CHIEF HAS SAID THAT WON’T BE ENOUGH – ARGUING A PHASE OUT OF FOSSIL FUELS THEMSELVES IS AN IMMINENT DISCUSSION NEEDED AMONG WORLD LEADERS TO CURB GLOBAL WARMING.