Saudi registrants for COP28 included undeclared oil company employees, nonprofit says

By ED DAVEY and MARY KATHERINE WILDEMAN
Associated Press

At least 15 people who registered for Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai appear to be undeclared employees of the Saudi state oil company, according to research by an environmental nonprofit. Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-biggest oil producer, tried to block the call for an aggressive phaseout of fossil fuels from the final agreement at the United Nations-led summit. Global Witness found at least 15 people who signed up as part of the Saudi delegation have names matching employees of Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company. That would breach new guidelines intended to increase the transparency of the COP process. Aramco declined to comment.