The president of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai has denied that his country is using the meeting to make oil and gas deals.
The BBC reported on Monday that leaked briefing documents revealed plans by the United Arab Emirates to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations.
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber said at a news conference that the report aimed to undermine his COP28 presidency.
“These allegations are false, not true, incorrect and not accurate,” he said.
As well as being COP28 president, Mr Jaber is also CEO of the UAE’s giant state oil company, Adnoc, and of the state renewables business, Masdar.
The documents – obtained by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting working alongside the BBC – were prepared by the UAE’s COP28 team for meetings with at least 27 foreign governments ahead of the COP28 summit, which starts on 30 November.
They included proposed “talking points”, such as one for China which says Adnoc is “willing to jointly evaluate international LNG [liquefied natural gas] opportunities” in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.
The documents suggest telling a Colombian minister that Adnoc “stands ready” to support Colombia to develop its fossil fuel resources.
There are talking points for 13 other countries, including Germany and Egypt, which suggest telling them Adnoc wants to work with their governments to develop fossil fuel projects.
“I promise you, never ever did I see these talking points that they refer to or that I ever even used such talking points in my discussions,” Mr Jaber told the news conference, which BBC News was not invited to.
