Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, head of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company and chair of the COP28 climate conference, has been accused of trying to “greenwash” his image after several passages on his Wikipedia page were edited. This is according to research by the British newspaper The Guardian and the organization Center for Climate Reporting Tuesday. In particular, passages about his role as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), one of the twenty companies responsible for a third of all CO2emissions worldwide, have been modified or removed.
The investigation shows that references to a billion-dollar deal for oil pipelines, which the sultan signed in 2019, have been adjusted. An anonymous Wikipedia user, who claims to have been paid by Adnoc, tells The Guardian to have advised Jaber’s team on the matter. One passage first stated that Jaber had signed a $4 billion agreement with two US investment firms for the development of oil pipelines. That was later changed to a wording in which Jaber had only ‘attracted international investment’.
As far as is known, the first treatments were already applied in March last year. In addition, Jaber would have worked intensively with PR agencies that promote his work as an advocate for investments in green energy.
Cover name ‘Junk Tuner’
The Wikipedia page of COP28, as the climate conference in Dubai is referred to, has also been tinkered with. To a quote from Amnesty International that Sultan Jaber “cannot be a fair broker for climate talks when the company he heads intends to cause even more climate damage,” it was later added that “Al-Jaber is exactly the kind of ally that the climate movement need”. Links to his website and social media accounts have also been added.
In February, a Wikipedia user with the pseudonym “Junktuner” made these edits. The COP28 organization later confirmed that the head of their marketing team – Ramzi Haddad, whose name on Twitter is also “Junktuner” – owned that account. Only after being questioned by a Wikipedia administrator did Haddad say he has ties to the UAE government. Although Haddad promised not to make any more changes, he has since changed several passages.
Letter to Biden
Earlier this year, the decision by the United Arab Emirates, which holds about 6 percent of the world’s oil reserves, to appoint Jaber as chairman of the climate conference, caused quite a stir. Last week, 130 US and European parliamentarians called for Jaber’s nomination to be overturned. According to the parliamentarians, the sultan’s presidency would “obstruct COP28 from becoming a serious and productive climate summit”.
The letter, sent to, among others, US President Joe Biden and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, states: “The decision to appoint the CEO of one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world as COP28 chair – a company that recently announced plans to add 7.6 billion barrels of oil to its production over the next few years, the fifth largest increase in the world – threatens to undermine negotiations.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper on May 31, 2023.