Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is a prominent member of the UAE government. He has held various positions, including Minister of Industry and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC). He also chairs Masdar, also known as the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.
Early Life & Education
Al Jaber was born on August 31, 1973, in the United Arab Emirates. He possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the prestigious University of Southern California in the United States, a Doctorate in Business and Economics from Coventry University in the United Kingdom, and an MBA from the California State University at Los Angeles. It is worth noting that his academic journey in the United States was sponsored by a scholarship from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Sultan al Jaber’s Net Worth
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has a net worth of 2.41 million millions of dollars. He accumulated this amount from the top positions he holds in UAE government. Let’s find out the most prominent appointments and positions Sr Sultan AL Jaber holds.
Masdar & Dr Sultan Al Jaber
Dr Sultan Al Jaber established Masdar in 2006, serving as its CEO for seven years and guiding its global contribution to clean technology and sustainable development. Under his leadership, Masdar played a key role in the UAE’s successful bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2009. Dr. Al Jaber continues to serve as Masdar’s Chairman.
ADNOC CEO
In 2016, Dr. Al Jaber was appointed CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), where he has led a comprehensive transformation of the company at the direction of the UAE leadership. He has prioritized increased efficiencies, strengthened ADNOC’s overall performance, and fostered a more commercial mindset. He has also guided ADNOC through a number of strategic firsts, including entering the global capital markets for the first time, completing the first-ever IPO of an ADNOC business (ADNOC Distribution), and attracting significant FDI from strategic and private equity investors to stimulate smart growth across ADNOC’s upstream, midstream, and downstream value chain. Dr. Al Jaber has also led a digital transformation at ADNOC and prioritized the adoption of breakthrough technologies to increase the ADNOC production capacity by investing $127 billions for next few years.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber & Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Al Jaber holds several leadership roles and advisory positions and counsels on issues related to energy, economics and strategic communications. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and serves on the board of Emirates Global Aluminum, the fifth-largest aluminum company in the world. Dr. Al Jaber served as Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company from 2009-2019, overseeing the completion of Khalifa Port and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), Abu Dhabi’s first integrated trade, industrial, and logistics free zone.
COP28 President
In January 2023, Dr. Al Jaber was appointed COP28 UAE President Designate, where he is tasked with convening global consensus around raising ambition to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and translate goals into practical action. As Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Al Jaber oversees efforts to further expand the industrial development of the UAE, promote in-country value, and leverage technology as a key enabler as the country enters the Fourth Industrial Age. He is committed to increasing industrial competitiveness and helping to drive economic growth by catalyzing the diversification of the UAE’s economy.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, a serving oil executive, faces intense opposition from climate organizations as he assumes the top role at COP28, marking the first time an oil executive has held this position at a UN climate summit. Many politicians and organizations are advocating to Boycott COP28.
Criticism on Dr Sultan al Jaber for being COP28 President
It may seem like a joke, but it’s reality. Dr. Sultan al-Jaber UAE will be chairing the 28th UN climate conference in Dubai. This decision has sparked disbelief and anger from many climate experts.
This is the first time an oil company CEO has been given such a role in climate talks. Al-Jaber must enable 196 countries to find compromises and accelerate the fight against climate change. However, given that fossil fuels are the leading cause of global warming, this appointment raises questions about its appropriateness.
Tasneem Essop, who runs the Climate Action Network, criticized the chairman of ADNOC and asked him to resign as CEO. The network comprises 1,900 NGOs from 130 nations. Essop claimed that Dr. Sultan al Jaber Minister’s appointment would mean that the UN climate talks would be completely taken over by a national oil corporation and its related fossil fuel lobbyists, which she described as a “conflict of interest.”
At COP27 last year in Egypt, a record 600 individuals linked to fossil fuels attended the event and lobbied for oil and gas industries. Vanessa Nakate, a climate activist from Uganda, stated that “We cannot have another COP where fossil fuel interests are allowed to sacrifice our futures to eke out another few years of profit.”
Important Facts
- The UAE spends around $7 to extract one barrel of oil
- A single barrel of oil sells for approximately $75-80
- The UAE has a massive carbon footprint, ranking fourth globally behind Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait
- According to the US Energy Information Administration, the UAE is the world’s seventh-largest petroleum and other liquids producer, generating over $70 billion in export revenues
- The country possesses enormous reserves of oil and gas, with 98 billion barrels of oil and 215 trillion cubic feet of gas
By 2030, the UAE is aiming to extract 5 billion barrels of oil and gas annually, and it has demonstrated its commitment by joining the GECF gas exporting countries lobby group.
In addition, the UAE has recently blocked proposals to speed up cuts to shipping emissions at UN talks in London.
