Current:Home > MarketsSaudi registrants for COP28 included undeclared oil company employees, nonprofit says-LoTradeCoin
Saudi registrants for COP28 included undeclared oil company employees, nonprofit says
View Date:2024-12-23 22:16:36
At least 15 people who registered for Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai appear to be undeclared employees of the Saudi state oil company, according to research by an environmental nonprofit.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-biggest oil producer, was one of the main countries opposing an aggressive commitment to phase out fossil fuels at the United Nations-led summit. Saudi Arabia and other large oil-producing nations have traditionally held sway in nixing potential agreements on reducing oil, gas and coal, which when burned cause climate change.
This year, however, negotiators went into extra time before approving an agreement that calls for a transition away from fossil fuels for the first time, though critics say it is filled with loopholes.
New rules for this year’s talks required registrants to disclose their affiliation, a move aimed at improving transparency. Activists have long questioned the presence of fossil fuel producers at the talks, although the companies and many experts have said it makes sense for them to participate given their role in the emissions that cause climate change.
Global Witness reported that at least 14 members of the Saudi delegation had names that matched employees of the state oil company, Saudi Aramco. The Associated Press independently verified the nonprofit’s work. Two more registrants declared elsewhere -- but not in their conference registration -- an affiliation to Aramco. One of those was a board member.
AP earlier reported that at least 1,300 employees of organizations representing fossil fuel interests registered to attend this year’s talks. Aramco had not declared any delegates to this year’s conference, according to the AP research.
Aramco declined comment to AP. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which oversees the conference, did not respond to a request for comment.
Aramco gets some 99% of its revenues from fossil fuels, according to research by the nonprofit Urgewald. It’s not clear what role the apparent Aramco employees would have played within the Saudi delegation.
The UNFCCC secretariat asked delegates this year to declare their employer, as well as their relationship to the delegation they are guests of. It said participants could opt out of declaring the relationship but made no mention of opting out of declaring an affiliation.
The Global Witness count would make Aramco one of the larger fossil fuel companies to have registered attendance. Russian state-owned Gazprom, the world’s second-leading producer of oil and gas, declared at least 16 employees as attendees at this year’s climate conference.
Aramco employees on the Global Witness list included CEO Amin Nasser, senior vice president Fahad Al-Dhubaib and director of international affairs Nesa Subrahmaniyan.
“The world’s largest oil company snuck executives into COP28 without disclosing their interest,” Jonathan Noronha-Gant, senior campaigner at Global Witness, said. “We need to rid COPs of oil industry influence.”
Global Witness said it reviewed the 136 Saudi registrants who said they were affiliated to the country’s Ministry of Energy, to look for names of people employed by Aramco. Saudi Arabia’s total delegation has 478 people; the nonprofit did not review the entire delegation.
COP24, held in 2018, was the last year Aramco disclosed in the UN attendance rolls that it had sent staff.
Saudi Arabia hailed the deal announced Wednesday as a success. The country did not respond to requests for a comment.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Watch a rescuer’s cat-like reflexes pluck a kitten from mid-air after a scary fall
- Chronic drug shortages stress hospitals and patients
- Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow and Chaka Khan ready for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- Top-Rated Sweaters on Amazon That Are Cute, Cozy and Cheap (in a Good Way)
- Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
- Georgia lawmakers launch investigation of troubled Fulton County Jail in Atlanta
- 'Priscilla' cast Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi on why they avoided Austin Butler's 'Elvis'
- Stay in Israel, or flee? Thai workers caught up in Hamas attack and war are faced with a dilemma
- Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is ending her retirement at age 40 to make a skiing comeback
- Rights groups report widespread war crimes across Africa’s Sahel region with communities under siege
Ranking
- Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light display in Manhattan changing up this season
- Jury begins deliberating fate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried
- 'Schitt's Creek' star Emily Hampshire apologizes for Johnny Depp, Amber Heard costume
- In 'Priscilla,' we see what 'Elvis' left out
- Sydney Sweeney Slams Women Empowerment in the Industry as Being Fake
- Matthew Perry's memoir tops Amazon's best-selling books list days after his passing
- Closing arguments scheduled Friday in trial of police officer charged in Elijah McClain’s death
- Predictions for NASCAR Cup Series finale: Odds favor Larson, Byron, Blaney, Bell
Recommendation
-
Teachers in 3 Massachusetts communities continue strike over pay, paid parental leave
-
Oregon man sentenced for LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Idaho, including trying to hit people with car
-
Japan’s prime minister announces $113 billion in stimulus spending
-
Florida dentist charged in murder-for-hire case says he was a victim of extortion, not a killer
-
Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Team Up for SKIMS Collab With Dolce & Gabbana After Feud
-
'Friends' co-creators tell NPR they will remember Matthew Perry for his heart
-
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore plans to run for Congress, his political adviser says
-
Eviction filings in Arizona’s fast-growing Maricopa County surge amid a housing supply crisis