How PR Firms Greenwashed the UN's Biggest Climate Talks

How did an oil baron end up in charge of the world's biggest climate conference? With the help of the public relations and advertising industry. That's the gist of a new report from activist group Clean Creatives, which demands that the ad industry cut ties with fossil fuel clients. The report builds on a slew of investigative work demonstrating conflicts of interest among leadership of the United Nations climate summit (COP28) and its relationships with major PR and ad agencies. COP28 began Nov. 30 and ends Dec. 12. “The COP28 talks would not be taking place in Dubai if not for fossil fuel greenwashing provided by advertising and PR agencies," said executive director of Clean Creatives Duncan Meisel. "Communicating about global climate negotiations is one of the most important communication tasks imaginable, and the conflicted leadership of COP28 has hired a roster of equally conflicted agencies.” Nearly 300 Agencies—and 6 Major Holding Companies—Are Working for Fossil Fuel Clients Clean Creatives' publication highlights 11 previously unreported contracts between agencies and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc)—of which the president of the climate summit, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, is CEO—and Masdar, the United Arab Emirates' clean energy company (of which Adnoc is a part owner). Contracts for these two energy companies were included in the report due to the overlapping nature of the work inherent in Al Jaber's concurrent positions. Reports also show that communications between the companies and COP28 were at times indistinguishable in the lead-up to the event. PR blitz to mitigate criticism To build his reputation among global leaders since his 2016 appointment as CEO of Adnoc, Al Jaber has been working with a rotating cast of PR firms, including Edelman, per The Intercept. Edelman—one of the world's largest PR firms, with a long history of working on behalf of fossil fuel clients aiming to sow disinformation around climate change—has at least 24 representatives present at COP28, including CEO Richard Edelman, according to the UN's participant list. While the staggering numbers of fossil fuel lobbyists at COPs have been widely reported, the role of PR and advertising firms on behalf of those companies—and, in the case of COP28, the summit's president himself—has been less well known. "What a lot of these firms are doing is lobbying and politics," said Amy Westervelt, investigative journalist and host of the podcast Drilled. "It is outside what most people think they're doing when they do PR." After a 60-Day Review of Its Roster, Edelman Is Sticking With Polluters—For Now In total, Clean Creatives' report identified 26 contracts between 18 PR and ad agencies and COP28, Masdar and Adnoc. Over the past two years, these agencies also worked on 64 different fossil fuel campaigns, including those with the UAE's state-owned companies. In a blog post highlighting its work on behalf of the UAE during its successful bid to host COP28, PR firm ASDA'A BCW described the potential for the UAE's bid to "trigger a negative reaction and undue attention on fossil fuels." The PR blitz that the firm developed aimed to mitigate that criticism—creating narratives around the country's "successful initiatives in transitioning to a lower carbon economy." ASDA'A BCW did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Edelman spokesperson confirmed that the firm is working with COP28 but wouldn't share additional information regarding its engagement with the summit or Adnoc. The stakes In his opening speech to kick off COP28, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned oil and gas producers: "The 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce. Not abate. Phase out, with a clear time frame aligned with 1.5 degrees." The 1.5-degree Celsius limit refers to the amount of warming that scientists have said would avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change. Nations pledged to aim for this during the Paris Agreement in 2015 at the 21st COP. Greenwash[ing] polluters makes it harder to focus on the real problem at hand, which is fossil fuel pollution Executive director of Clean Creatives Duncan Meisel To do that, the world needs to cut fossil fuel use by 43% by 2030 and by more than 75% by 2050—something that's opposed to what the UAE is currently planning. Adnoc, under Al Jaber, plans to aggressively expand oil and gas production, with a $150 billion investment over five years to produce an additional 7.5 billion barrels of oil. To meet the net zero 2050 scenario set by the International Energy Agency, 90% of that oil would have to stay in the ground. By mitigating the criticism around COP28, the UAE, Al Jaber and Adnoc, PR and ad agencies have made it harder for observers to understand the reality that the world is facing, and what's needed at these talks. "The effort to greenwash polluters makes it harder for these meetings to focus on the real problem at hand, which is fossil fuel pollution," Meisel said.