[Salon] COP28: UAE Statecraft and Climate Diplomacy - ArabDigest.org

COP28: UAE Statecraft and Climate Diplomacy Summary: the UAE is using clever statecraft and COP28 to position itself as the champion of climate action for the Global South while further enhancing its international political clout. We thank Matthew Hedges for today’s newsletter. Matthew is an academic focussing on authoritarian regimes with an emphasis on the monarchies of the Gulf states. He is the author of Reinventing the Sheikhdom: Clan, Power and Patronage in Mohammed bin Zayed’s UAE published by Hurst in 2022. You can find Matthew’s podcast conversation about the book here. The UAE’s hosting of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28) has faced global criticism, yet its statecraft strategy has expertly amplified the small Gulf state’s global platform. Despite being one of the world’s largest exporters of oil and amongst the highest per capita consumers of energy and with the head of its national oil company ADNOC in charge of COP28 the UAE has positioned itself as a leading climate voice for the Global South. COP28 has provided a politicised and legitimate vehicle for the UAE to manipulate and extend its international footprint, while also supporting its short-term aim of shaping climate action policies in its own interests. COP28 provides all states with an equal vote, levelling the international domain. Through this lens the UAE’s foreign policy related to climate action can be fully understood. There is no region-specific focus to the UAE’s outreach, rather a global effort that has exploited and builds on worldwide anxiety of a looming climate catastrophe. Emirati statecraft orientation around climate action demonstrates a good governance that will help to secure support during COP28 negotiations. On every continent the UAE has heightened investment and developments through the prism of climate action and development. ADNOC’s CEO and COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber has used his chairmanship of the renewable energy company Masdar to deliver investments, partnerships, and capabilities to micro and small states including the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Seychelles, Mauritania and Bahamas. (The UAE’s successful outreach has even resulted in Tonga establishing an embassy in Abu Dhabi, which for a population of 107,000 is illustrative of the UAE’s ability to curry favour and win votes across the international stage.) The augmentation of climate action to aid and development has recently been seen in Yemen where the UAE has constructed renewable energy projects to aid its proxy the STC (the separatist Southern Transitional Council) providing it with a sustainable ability to generate energy and avoid dependence upon the UAE for support. Meanwhile, the UAE has recently turned to its oil profits to amplify its “green credentials” primarily through carbon offsetting. From Liberia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia to Zimbabwe and the Horn of Africa the UAE has been buying millions of hectares across Africa to offset its own carbon emissions while claiming to conserve forests. This exploitative practice has been condemned as destabilising. However when Global South states need investment and support, the UAE is perceived as an ally who is providing much needed backing. The UAE has successfully capitalised on the West’s retreat and isolation and elevated its global significance across a spectrum of fields. Throughout the lead-up to COP28 the UAE has been vocal about the need to provide tailored financing solutions in the fight against climate change. Green Islamic financing solutions have been established, highlighting the UAE’s nuanced strategy in structuring a wide range of solutions. Climate action is intrinsically associated with modernity and the potential of high tech solutions. The UAE has been advancing itself as a global climate tech hub, with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Masdar, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Abu Dhabi Holding (ADQ), Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), and International Holding Company (IHC) all promoting avenues for collaboration and development. The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has also shown itself as a driver of innovation and has supported strategic partnerships with Japan, UK, and the US. The UAE’s Aim for Climate has amassed a coalition of over 50 states to drive sustainable technology and commercial solutions. The UAE’s recent efforts are impressive both for the impact they have had and the coordination displayed across its statecraft levers. The sophistication of this coordinated policy approach attracts global support and is empowered by global values. It is likely then that ahead of COP28 the Emiratis have secured significant international support through a strategy that enables them to oversee climate negotiations in a globally ‘democratic’ manner. However this UAE-overseen COP28 will likely fall short of immediate progress. Still, while the West may attempt to accelerate global solutions to fight climate change, it is the UAE that will provide substantial weight for a globalised approach while at the same time continuing to exploit its ample carbon resources for immediate development. That is a challenging finesse but one the UAE is already signalling it is capable of pulling off.