"Hundreds of climate and environmental groups from around the world released a letter Thursday that decried the nomination of an oil executive to oversee the United Nations climate negotiations at COP28 this year.

Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates, host of the U.N. climate talks this year, named Sultan al-Jaber to the presidency of the conference Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The company he runs as chief executive, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., produces 4 million barrels of crude oil per day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily by the end of the decade.

Revenues generated from the sale of that oil are critical to economic health of the UAE, which is among the world’s top 10 oil producers. And the burning of that oil creates carbon dioxide emissions while the climate crisis is worsening.

Activists said the selection of al-Jaber “threatens the legitimacy and efficacy” of the conference. “There is no honor in appointing a fossil fuel executive who profits immensely off of fueling the climate crisis to oversee the global response to climate change,” read the letter to U.N. officials."

Drew Costley reports for the Associated Press January 26, 2023. [2]