--- title: US, EU Politicians Want Oil CEO Removed as COP28 Head description: Appointing Sultan Al Jaber, who runs the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., to lead the major climate summit has been controversial from the start. canonical: https://time.com/6282046/politicians-un-letter-al-jaber-cop28/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-05-23T16:11:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:55:31.689Z article:section: Climate og:title: Global Politicians Pressure U.N. To Remove Fossil Fuel CEO as Head of COP28 Climate Summit og:description: "We must prevent private interests from interfering in politics and regain ownership of our future." og:url: https://time.com/6282046/politicians-un-letter-al-jaber-cop28/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcf235e1fa91a45/698a3d4016d884d8f5c3be02/al-jaber-cop28-climate-summit-politicans-letter-to-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GERMANY-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-PETERSBERG-CLIMATE-DIALOGUE-COP28 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Global Politicians Pressure U.N. To Remove Fossil Fuel CEO as Head of COP28 Climate Summit twitter:description: "We must prevent private interests from interfering in politics and regain ownership of our future." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcf235e1fa91a45/698a3d4016d884d8f5c3be02/al-jaber-cop28-climate-summit-politicans-letter-to-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Global Politicians Pressure U.N. To Remove Fossil Fuel CEO as Head of COP28 Climate Summit > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Akshat Rathi and John Ainger / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Akshat Rathi and John Ainger / Bloomberg Contributor May 23, 2023 4:11 PM UTC  The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber speaks at the start of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a conference that focuses on laying the groundwork for the COP28 Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates, on May 2, 2023 at the Foreign Office in Berlin. The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber speaks at the start of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a conference that focuses on laying the groundwork for the COP28 Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates, on May 2, 2023 at the Foreign Office in Berlin.SCHWARZ/AFP—Getty Images by [Akshat Rathi and John Ainger / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Akshat Rathi and John Ainger / Bloomberg Contributor May 23, 2023 4:11 PM UTC More than 100 US and EU lawmakers appealed to the leaders of their countries and the United Nations to oust oil executive Sultan Al Jaber as head of this year’s COP28 [climate](https://time.com/section/climate/) summit. The politicians also asked that further steps be taken to limit the influence of [fossil-fuel companies](https://time.com/6175206/black-gold-fossil-fuel-industry/) at the talks to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates at the end of the year. The appointment of Al Jaber, who runs state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., to lead a conference whose goal is to increase global action to cut carbon emissions, has been controversial from the start. The [letter was addressed](https://corporateeurope.org/en/2023/05/transatlantic-alliance-130-eu-and-us-decision-makers-call-end-fossil-fuel-influence-un) to US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UN’s climate chief Simon Stiell. It was signed by 99 EU and 34 US lawmakers. “For billions of people, the outcome of COP28 and following international [climate negotiations](https://time.com/6235427/climate-cop27/) will make the difference between life and death, chaos and solidarity,” said Manon Aubry, a member of the European Parliament and one of the signatories. “Corporate greed and lobbyists’ lies have led us into this climate crisis. We must prevent [private interests](https://time.com/6230336/un-net-zero-report-catherine-mckenna/) from interfering in politics and regain ownership of our future.” This isn’t the first concerted effort to remove Al Jaber. In January, more than two dozen US lawmakers called on the country’s climate envoy John Kerry to apply diplomatic pressure on the UAE to replace him as COP28 chief. In February, green EU lawmakers also made the same case in [a letter](https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/letter/for-a-fossil-free-united-nations-climate-change-conference) addressed to UN’s Stiell. Under Al Jaber, Adnoc is set to boost oil and gas production, which is something the International Energy Agency and climate scientists agree could cause the world to blow past limits for global warming set through the COP process. Al Jaber is also chairman of state-owned renewable energy company Masdar. In response to the letter, the organizers of COP28 have given support to Al Jaber. “We believe that Dr. Sultan’s experience as an engineer, working across the energy spectrum, coupled with his experience as a senior global industry leader, are assets that will help drive the UAE’s transformative approach to COP28,” a spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6282046/politicians-un-letter-al-jaber-cop28/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6282046/politicians-un-letter-al-jaber-cop28/"},"headline":"Global Politicians Pressure U.N. 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