Senior UAE official defends oil industry’s role at UN climate summit that Gulf nation will host

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — A senior United Arab Emirates official says the Gulf nation wants a U.N. climate summit it’s hosting later this year to deliver “game-changing results” for international efforts to curb global warming. But UAE diplomat Majid al-Suwaidi said doing so will require having the fossil fuel industry at the table. Environmental campaigners have slammed the presence of oil and gas lobbyists at previous rounds of talks, warning that their interests are opposed to the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Last month scores of U.S. and European lawmakers called for the summit’s designated chair to be replaced over his links to state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The issue complicates already-delicate negotiations ahead of the Nov. 30 – Dec. 12 meeting in Dubai.