Saudi Arabia is obstructing the UN’s flagship climate negotiations and pressuring their presidency, the United Arab Emirates, in a bid to shift the focus away from oil and gas producing nations, according to several people involved in the talks.
Sultan al-Jaber, COP28 president and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is “under a lot of pressure” from Saudi Arabia, negotiators and European officials said.
Speaking on Sunday, Jaber said: “The time has come for all parties to constructively engage and to come to me with that language [on the future of fossil fuels]. I want everyone to show flexibility, to act with urgency, and to find the common ground.”