Fuming Scots campaigners have branded the appointment of one of the world’s biggest oil barons as COP28 chief a “cruel joke”.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), is set to lead the crucial UN climate talks in Dubai later this year - sparking fury among activists worldwide.
They say Al Jaber must step down from his fossil fuels role to avoid a massive conflict of interest.
Friends of the Earth Scotland campaigns chief Mary Church told the Record: “It is a cruel joke that an oil company boss is being put in charge of the UN climate negotiations.
“This decision is a slap in the face to people facing floods, fires and famine around the world as the climate emergency worsens.
“Fossil fuel companies have no place anywhere at the climate talks, let alone at the helm.
“Rising temperatures and extreme weather is being driven by the burning of fossil fuels yet the man who is in charge of one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world is to be trusted with a job that can only deliver by slashing their use.
“It is the most glaring conflict of interest imaginable.”
And Mike Robinson, chair of charities coalition Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, blasted: “It beggars belief that the head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has been tasked with leading the COP28 climate talks.
“The hosts of COP28 are going to have to work really hard to prove they have the best interests of the whole world at heart, and that the talks aren't simply seen as oil industry greenwash.”
Extinction Rebellion Scotland branded the COP talks an “annual circus as the climate and ecological crisis accelerates”.
A spokesperson added: “To elect an oil chief as president just reinforces that the talks are a sham.”
Al Jaber is also the minister for industry and advanced technology for Middle Eastern COP28 hosts the United Arab Emirates, as well as the founder of a state-owned renewables firm.
But international charity the Environmental Justice Foundation claimed his oil giant ADNOC was among the most polluting companies on Earth and said the COP process was "in tatters".
Alice Harrison, of Global Witness, added: "You wouldn't invite arms dealers to lead peace talks. So why let oil executives lead climate talks?"
And Tasneem Essop, from Climate Action International, said: "(Al Jaber) cannot preside over a process that is tasked to address the climate crisis with such a conflict of interest, heading an industry that is responsible for the crisis itself.
“If he does not step down as CEO, it will be tantamount to a full-scale capture of the UN climate talks by a petrostate national oil company and its associated fossil fuel lobbyists.”
It comes after green crusaders widely considered November’s COP27 to be a letdown, a year on from COP26 in Glasgow.
Attempts at the summit in Egypt to declare an agreed “phase down” of oil and gas - after a similar announcement for coal in 2021 - fell apart amid stiff resistance from fossil fuel-producing nations.
The UK’s lead negotiator Alok Sharma told of his “disappointment” that the watered-down final COP27 agreement didn’t go further to drive down emissions.
The historic conference in Glasgow's SEC in late 2021 had some 500 fossil fuel lobbyists in attendance - rising to more than 600 for COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
But some have welcomed the selection of Al Jaber, 49 - who would be the first oil executive to chair a COP - claiming the businessman has an “understanding” of key issues.
Yvo de Boer, former UN climate chief, said: "The UAE has adopted a sound green growth strategy and is a major investor in renewable energy both at home and abroad.
"The COP president-designate has been instrumental on many of these issues.”
And a spokesman for the UAE government said Al Jaber "has a long career serving as a diplomat, minister, and business leader across the energy and renewables industry, including as the founding chief executive of Masdar, a global renewable energy leader."
He added: "His experience uniquely positions him to be able to convene both the public and private sector to bring about pragmatic solutions to achieve the goals and aspirations of the Paris Climate Agreement."
Al Jaber has previously spoken out about the need for the world to transition away from oil and gas, with his Masdar renewables project heavily focused on solar power.
Scientists warn that without major global declines in the use of hydrocarbons, the world will smash through the 1.5C warming limit set in the Paris Agreement and pave the way for catastrophic climate change.
It comes as scientists confirmed on Thursday that the past eight years had been the world’s hottest on record.
Meanwhile, scientists this week called for governments around the world to force fossil fuel companies to “take back” the CO2 they emit through carbon capture technology.
The Oxford-led study said making oil and gas firms store carbon underground would be a “simple and predictable regulation” to help the push for net zero, in line with the well-established principle that polluters should pay for their own clean-up.
Edinburgh Uni expert Dr Hannah Chalmers hailed the idea as a "gamechanger".
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
