Unearthed document reveals how Arab energy companies saw John Kerry as ticket to massive green energy windfall

Emirati energy companies run by the president of this year’s United Nations (UN) climate summit viewed Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry as a key figure in efforts to secure their future financial success, according to Politico.

Masdar, a renewable energy company founded and chaired by COP28 President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, described Kerry as one of the “stakeholders and third-party allies who can externally validate” the company’s plans to evolve into “one of the world’s largest clean energy companies,” according to Politico, which obtained an October 2022 planning document. Al-Jaber is also the CEO of ADNOC, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) state-owned oil and gas company, which believed that Kerry could “validate ADNOC’s role as a responsible energy provider in the context of a pro-growth, pro-climate energy transition,” according to a December 2022 corporate strategy document previously obtained and reported by Politico.

The internal documents show that both companies hoped to leverage Kerry’s “climate credentials” to their own benefit, according to Politico.

Highlights from the visit of John Kerry, US @ClimateEnvoy. Accompanied by HE #DrSultanAlJaber, John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, visited a number of strategic projects in the #UAE yesterday, including Shams and #Masdar. pic.twitter.com/8rSJbLni4P

— Masdar (@Masdar) April 4, 2021

Kerry has a strong personal relationship with al-Jaber, according to Politico. The two have met more than 20 times since Kerry started working for the Biden White House in 2021, and they are in “constant communication via text, via staff, calls, via meetings and so forth,” a person with close knowledge of the two officials’ relationship told the outlet, which granted the source anonymity to speak freely.

In January of this year, when al-Jaber was announced as the head of this year’s conference, Kerry remarked that he was a “terrific choice” for the position, in part because he finds it necessary to involve the fossil fuel industry in charting the course for a future where green energy reigns supreme.

State Department officials maintain that the relationship is typical given the requirements of each man’s job and that Kerry maintains similar relationships with the Chinese climate envoy and other diplomats occupying similar posts, according to Politico.

The revelations about the internal documents describing the role Kerry could play in providing external validation for the company are not the first signs that corporate influence may be infecting al-Jaber’s COP28 presidency, which is supposed to be focused on facilitating global cooperation to address climate change. A different set of leaked documents revealed that Emirati officials sought to use COP28-related meetings with foreign diplomats to discuss business matters related to the two companies.

The UAE’s technological ambitions do not end with green energy. G42, an Emirati artificial intelligence company, has found itself drawing the Central Intelligence Agency’s attention for its ties to Chinese enterprises; the UAE is a key prize in the ongoing technological cold war between Washington and Beijing, largely because of its energy production capacity, The New York Times reported on Monday.

Kerry’s office, ADNOC, Masdar, and the UN did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

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