Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday bashed the decision to hold the upcoming COP28 global climate conference in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates later this year.
The progressive senator who sponsored the Green New Deal told the POLITICO Energy Summit that the UAE’s deep ties to the fossil fuel raise doubts about its “sincerity” in committing to climate action.
“You can’t preach temperance from a bar stool,” Markey said. “You can’t tell someone, ‘Don’t drink beer’ when Dad has a can of a Schlitz in his hand.”
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the president of COP28 and CEO of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company, has argued that his fossil fuel background puts him in a strong position to push the industry to decarbonize.
Markey said he counted himself as a “doubting Thomas” as to whether the COP28 leaders would maintain such commitments “when the door’s closed and they’re all back in the same room.”
“If you just take them in their own words, then this is going to be a lost opportunity,” Markey said.
