Amsterdam, Netherlands – Responding to reports from the BBC that it has seen evidence that the United Arab Emirates' COP28 Presidency team planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals, Kaisa Kosonen, Policy Coordinator at Greenpeace International said:
"If the allegations are true, this is totally unacceptable and a real scandal. The climate summit leader should be focused on advancing climate solutions impartially, not backroom deals that are fuelling the crisis. This is exactly the kind of conflict of interest we feared when the CEO of an oil company was appointed to the role.
"If the Presidency wants to claw back credibility it can only do so through actions. That means brokering a global agreement for a just and equitable phase out of all fossil fuels, in alignment with science, and making polluters pay for the loss and damage they've caused to communities. This would make this COP truly historic and is what the world is anxiously waiting for.
"We have all the solutions we need to transition to renewable energy, but it won't happen fast enough if governments fail to regulate fossil fuels out of the way. COP is an opportunity to secure our survival, not to strike business deals that fuel the crisis. This summit is the world's most powerful forum to avert the biggest threat to the survival of humankind, and we urge the Presidency to act accordingly."
