Ironically, the head of the World Climate Conference has to justify himself: According to "science", there is no need to stop oil and gas production. This statement by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the chairman of this year's UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, caused outrage. Now Al Jaber is backpedaling and justifying himself.
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COP President Sultan Al Jaber
Photo: Martin Divisek / EPA
"At first glance, Sultan Al Jaber is a likeable figure, seems Western-oriented, open," says SPIEGEL editor Susanne Götze, who describes her observations from the World Climate Conference in Dubai in this podcast episode. "Critics see him as a Trojan horse," says Claus Hecking, a member of SPIEGEL's knowledge department. So it's a Trojan horse for the oil industry?
What does the leader of the conference stand for? Does he stand up for the oil interests of his home country, or does he advocate climate protection measures such as phasing out fossil fuels as an independent negotiator? That's what you'll hear in this week's climate report.
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