Fossil fuel lobby casts long shadow over COP28

The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) United Nations (UN) Climate Summit is scheduled to commence on Thursday in Dubai, amid mounting allegations of major influence by the global oil and gas industry.

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Days before the pivotal UN conference on the climate  crisis begins, the BBC reported on Monday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) planned to leverage its role as the host of UN climate talks to strike oil and gas deals.

A series of leaked briefing documents, obtained by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting working alongside the BBC, reveal that the UAE's COP28 team explored business opportunities for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the UAE's state-owned national oil giant.

The documents prepared for COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, who also remains the chief executive officer of Adnoc despite calls for him to step down, show that the UAE's COP28 team proposed fossil fuel deals in meetings with at least 27 foreign governments.