For the chief executive of one of the world’s most successful oil companies, presiding over a UN-backed agreement to dump fossil fuels seems an unlikely task. But Sultan al-Jaber, the United Arab Emirates’ most trusted technocrat and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, must oversee just that.
At this year’s COP28 climate summit, negotiators from almost 200 countries are sparring over the future for fossil fuels, the biggest contributor to global warming when burnt. The UAE, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, wants to be among the last hydrocarbon producers standing.
Brokering a deal among a diverse array of countries, often with competing and contradictory interests, not least those of Saudi Arabia, has been a challenge for Jaber. The 50-year-old’s rise through UAE officialdom has been driven by a steely self-belief matched with a combative style. Yet the same force of personality that helped propel him up the ranks of Emirati technocracy has now collided with the delicate diplomatic task of forging climate consensus.
Speaking to the FT in October, Jaber issued a plea: “We’ve had 27 COPs. Please let me deliver something tangible this time.” But some have questioned the suitability of an oil boss leading the world’s most important climate negotiations, leaving Jaber visibly angry at the suggestion that he is not the right person for the job.
As founding chief executive of Masdar, Jaber — known to all as Dr Sultan — gave the UAE a position in clean energy among otherwise lagging oil exporters. He is also industry minister, oversees the Abu Dhabi media conglomerate bidding for the UK’s Daily Telegraph and sits on the boards of several companies central to the emirate’s diversification plans.
