Experts in the News

For the UAE, COP28 was not just about environmental benefits, said Coates Ulrichsen.

“The UAE invested a lot of political and diplomatic capital in COP28 and wanted precisely this kind of landmark statement that would associate the UAE with setting the global agenda and forging a new consensus for the road ahead.”

On Russian President Vladimir Putin’s December 2023 visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Coates Ulrichsen said:

“Putin’s high-profile meetings [in the Gulf] are significant both in terms of substance, given the focus on energy policy as well as Gaza, and symbolism, given the deep international divisions over the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, since October, the perception felt by many across the Arab world, and much of the Global South, of double standards in the Western, and especially American, response to Israel and Gaza.”

“Within the UAE, Dubai has become a centre of soft power while Abu Dhabi is all about hard power, making decisions on security, defence, regional security issues. Whereas Dubai is this aspirational hub intended for people all over the world to live in, to work, to do business – that’s replicated in having [COP28] in Dubai,” said Coates Ulrichsen.

"The ground in the Gulf has clearly shifted to Qatar's position on the Israel-Palestine conflict," said Coates Ulrichsen on Doha's role as mediator.

There’s a risk of reputational damage to the UAE if they fail to make any traction in the talks, particularly as they are a major oil producer, said Coates Ulrichsen.

“There is also a risk that media and civil society coverage will focus critically on issues such as the UAE’s planned expansion of oil production capacity and depict the UAE as part of the part of the problem rather than the solution in terms of climate politics.”