Talk:Sultan Al Jaber

Edit requests to Intro and ADNOC sections

Hi. I am CB and I have a few edits I would like to have implemented for the Introduction and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company sections.

• Please make the following small edits to the Intro so that the paragraph reads as follows: Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber (Arabic: سلطان أحمد الجابر, born August 31, 1973) is a Cabinet Member and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC Group), the Chairman of Masdar, and the United Arab Emirates' special envoy for climate change.
• The first paragraph of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company section includes too many unnecessary details. After the sentence "He was appointed...on 15 February 2016," please remove the last three sentences and replace them with the following sentence: Since then Al Jaber publicly listed several ADNOC businesses, while also attracting about $26 billion in international investment from companies such as BlackRock, Eni, and KKR.
• The second paragraph in the same section also includes too many details. Please replace it with the following paragraph: Under Al Jaber, ADNOC has invested in carbon capture and green hydrogen projects, while also committing to power its operations with renewable energy sources. The company has sought to increase ADNOC's output of crude oil from 3 million barrels of oil a day in 2016 to 5 million by 2030 which they believe is essential to avoid a global supply crunch while the world still relies on conventional fuels, using revenues to invest in carbon capture and green fuel technologies.

References

Thank you for your help, CB at ADNOC (talk) 08:25, 24 March 2022 (UTC)

Hi @CB at ADNOC:. I've made a number of the changes you've requested, but some of the changes regard the removal of sourced material and I don't believe that should change - well sourced material that includes pertinent information (even if it's a little more detail than ideally the company would like to see shared in an article) would always be retained in WP, while unsourced information should be challenged and removed (I have in fact removed some unsourced content as well). Do let me know if this works out for you, but do please also review these changes with Wikipedia policies in mind - sourced fact, sourced material is generally kept in, unsourced material challenged and removed. There is a policy WP:DUE that manages the assignment of due and undue weight in an article and I think the overall position as it stands is fair (to the elements you have requested changes, at least, haven't had time to look at the rest). Best Alexandermcnabb (talk) 12:25, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Closing this request since it has been answered above. Z1720 (talk) 23:18, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

According to the Guardian, 5/40/23, the editor who wrote the above edit request is a paid employee of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company attempting to greenwash the subject of this article. TheScotch (talk) 05:56, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

See

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/30/cop28-president-team-accused-of-wikipedia-greenwashing-sultan-al-jaber

2A02:1210:2642:4A00:3C1F:D51A:2832:DAE4 (talk) 06:07, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Climate change and honors sections

Hi. I am requesting a few straightforward edits to update the article, as follows:

• At the end of the "Energy and climate change" section, please add the following information:

In 2009, as CEO of Masdar, he helped bring the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to the UAE.

Al Jaber has advocated for a global approach to addressing climate change at international forums such as the Munich Security Conference, where he spoke in February 2022, stressing that responding to climate change can lead to diversified economic growth. He has also emphasized the key role national hydrocarbon producers should play in the energy transition, arguing that the least carbon-intensive barrels will be required for the foreseeable future.

During Al Jaber's tenure as special climate envoy to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC) for the UAE, the organization chose the UAE as the host for the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in 2023.

• Please add the following sentence to the end of the "Honors" section:

In 2021, Al Jaber was named ‘Energy Executive of the Year’ by Energy Intelligence.

References

I am also pinging Alexandermcnabb who has helped with this page in the past. Thanks so much. CB at ADNOC (talk) 08:47, 27 July 2022 (UTC)

@CB at ADNOC Edits made as requested (after review). Requestor is cautioned against making direct edits to teh article. Cheers. Duke Gilmore (talk) 20:25, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

@CB at ADNOC requested 'arguing that the least carbon-intensive barrels will be required for the foreseeable future' be added and Duke Gilmore added it. Whether @CB at ADNOC is an impartial source or not (see comment by TheScotch (talk)), as it stands, it doesn't make sense. The source cited is the Wall Street Journal, which is behind a paywall. Possibly 'the least carbon-intensive oil will be required for the foreseeable future' might express the sense of what is written in the WSJ article - could someone check and edit this statement? Robert P Connolly (talk) 13:06, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Changes to Masdar section

Hi there, my name is Zkhan2023. I'd like to propose the following changes to the article:

• Please move the Masdar subsection to the top of the Business career section, to ensure that the section reads in proper chronological order.
• Update the Masdar section to the version below, which better articulates his roles and activities at the company, complete with sources:

Al Jaber was the founding CEO of Masdar, beginning in 2006, and was appointed the chairman in March 2014. Under his leadership Masdar expanded its investment in renewable energy and as of the end of 2022 was invested in 40 countries. Under his chairmanship Masdar underwent a restructuring that brought in TAQA, ADNOC and Mubadala as shareholders in 2022. Al Jaber's goal is to expand Masdar's clean energy capacity to 100GW by 2030, making it the second largest renewable investor in the world.

References

Pinging Alexandermcnabb who appears to have been helpful with previous edit requests on this page. Thanks for your time, Zkhan2023 (talk) 08:52, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Implemented in the article with references. Feel free to reopen this discussion if there are any issues. Thanks, Zkhan2023 (talk) 05:04, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

In the spirit of reflexivity...

Here's today's Guardian article, describing the attempts of the subject of this article to improve his depiction here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/30/cop28-president-team-accused-of-wikipedia-greenwashing-sultan-al-jaber

Cop28 president’s team accused of Wikipedia ‘greenwashing’

Exclusive: UAE using site to ‘control narrative’ amid criticism of oil boss leading climate summit, say critics

2A02:1210:2642:4A00:3C1F:D51A:2832:DAE4 (talk) 06:05, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Here is a more formal formatting of that reference:

Stockton, Ben (30 May 2023). "Cop28 president's team accused of Wikipedia 'greenwashing'". The Guardian. Exclusive: UAE using site to 'control narrative' amid criticism of oil boss leading climate summit, say critics.

-- 97.124.42.180 (talk) 06:19, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Why are we taking edits from Adnoc, anyway?

Seriously, can someone explain that to me?

The account @CB at ADNOC is literally ran by Sultan Al Jaber's team. They are paid for creating a good image, requesting to remove negative and add positive information. Why should Wikipedia cater someone's commercial interests, let alone interests of a fossil fuel company that is trying to infiltrate climate conferences, so it can carry on destroying the world? 148.252.133.105 (talk) 18:13, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Because not all CoI edits are bad, or even controversial. We encourage CoI editors to declare their CoI, and to use talk pages to request` all but the most benign edits. Each CoI should be judged on its merits. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:57, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

• Dr. Sultan Al Jaber.png

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 10:24, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Discussion involving BLP and marital status/children of this subject

Wikipedia talk:Biographies of living persons § Should a marital status or number of children be mentioned if no sources deem them noteworthy? Huggums537 (talk) 14:33, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Should we use The National as a source here?

This article currently makes quite extensive use of The National, a UAE newspaper, as a source. Most of the uses aren't particularly controversial, as they are mostly press release-style announcements of Al Jaber doing this or that. However, it appears that The National is owned by a royal and PM of the UAE. We thus have a source here owned by the UAE government (or rather someone with immediate stakes in said government) reporting on issues regarding the UAE government, which calls reliability and notability of The National as a source into question. I'd rather not use it in this article but I'd like to hear some input. Cortador (talk) 08:36, 9 August 2023 (UTC)

Addendum: there's also some other possibly not reliable sources: Energy Voice is owned by the carbon industry, and advertises itself as being able to "provide members with a unique marketing platform". Gulf Business and Gulf News are owned or partially owned by Obaid Al Tayer, who was an Emirati minister until recently.

Editors largely agree that The National is at minimum not a suitable source for topics related to the UAE, and possibly generally unreliable (see here).

Updates to page

Hi all, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest and would like to suggest the following changes to the article to bring it up to date.

Alexandermcnabb and Cortador I note you have responded thoughtfully to previous requests on this subject matter and would appreciate your input on these suggestions - many thanks in advance!

1. The introduction currently reads:

Al Jaber is the UAE's special envoy for climate change, and the president-designate of the COP28 climate talks. His appointment as head of the COP28 climate talks was strongly criticized by environmentalists due to his track record at ADNOC. As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has overseen a substantial expansion of gas and oil production at the same time that fossil fuel industries are under pressure to reduce output in order to mitigate climate change.

Can this be updated from designate to president (as he did carry out this role), and could a sentence be added to indicate the international response to his work in this capacity. The new text would read as follows:

Al Jaber is the UAE's special envoy for climate change, and the president of the COP28 climate talks. Following the summit, his role as president has been recognized due to the delivery of a climate agreement that contained language directing a "transition away" from fossil fuels for the first time.^[1][2][3]  His appointment as head of the COP28 climate talks was strongly criticized by environmentalists due to his track record at ADNOC. As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has overseen a substantial expansion of gas and oil production at the same time that fossil fuel industries are under pressure to reduce output in order to mitigate climate change.

The following sources corroborate this:

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/climate/sultan-al-jaber-cop28.html
2. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/13/cop28-deal-significant-progress-tackle-climate-crisis
3. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231213-uae-s-jaber-oil-boss-who-brokered-beginning-of-end-for-fossil-fuels

2. Similarly, there is no update on the results of COP28 in the COP28 Presidency section. Could the following or similar be added:

Under Al Jaber's presidency, the summit committed to a climate agreement containing language directing a "transition away from fossil fuels". This was the first United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP event where an agreement was reached which suggested such a direction for fossil fuels.

Again, the following sources confirm this result:

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/climate/sultan-al-jaber-cop28.html
2. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/13/cop28-deal-significant-progress-tackle-climate-crisis
3. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231213-uae-s-jaber-oil-boss-who-brokered-beginning-of-end-for-fossil-fuels

3. In the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company section, the third paragraph refers to output, but this figure actually refers to production capacity and should be changed accordingly i.e. "As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has sought to increase ADNOC's crude oil production capacity from 3 million barrels of oil a day in 2016 to 5 million by 2030."^[1]

1. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61365

4. Also in the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company section, the first line is "Al Jaber has tried to position himself as an environmental advocate". The wording of the original New York Times source refers to "serving as an environmental advocate" rather than "trying to position" but it is hard to describe levels of advocacy without subjectivity. As the Sultan's actions/role both as a climate advocate and as a fossil fuels executive are covered amply elsewhere in the paragraph and in the rest of the article, and the paragraph still makes sense without this sentence, I would like to suggest removing this sentence to preserve a neutral tone.

Many thanks for considering these changes. Dedemocha (talk) 17:18, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

I've added the blurb regarding the COP28 agreement. I won't include this in the lead at this point, since the agreement did receive criticism, and its mainly about COP28, not Al Jaber. If other editors think it belongs into the lead, I'll add it there.

The term "output" is used by several sources (BBC, Financial Times), and BBC News has cast doubt on whether this actually refers to capacity. These sources a stronger than the EIA, which is a primary source.

Regarding the last point: the article also states: "For more than a decade he has tried to position the Persian Gulf state as a leader on environmental issues, acting at the behest of Abu Dhabi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed." This wording casts doubt on the advocacy. Neutrality in the context of Wikipedia means sticking to what sources state - it does not mean using neutral language. Cortador (talk) 13:33, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

Thanks @Cortador, I really appreciate you looking through this request.

Regarding the capacity vs output point, other secondary sources such as the FT and Reuters definitely use "output/production capacity" rather than "output" if that helps?

On the advocacy point I take your meaning on sticking to what the sources state. In that case, could the sentence be rephrased to say "Al Jaber has tried to position the UAE as a leader on environmental issues." This is based on the statement you identified, and is closer to the original NYT wording.

Thanks again for engaging with my suggestions! Dedemocha (talk) 17:06, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

To respond to Cortador's point on including the COP28 consensus wording in the Introduction, I think it is the right choice from a balance and fairness point of view. Coverage of this consensus consistently places heavy emphasis on how Al Jaber and his connections in the energy industry played a role in securing the agreement. Beyond the original three sources I linked, the following NYT article and Guardian article both indicate how Al Jaber had an impact on the eventual consensus.

Given the emphasis that the introduction currently places on Al Jaber's role as COP28 president, it would be appropriate and useful to casual readers to include a reference to the notable results of his presidency, specifically the first time the conference ever included language on transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Tagging Tserton and אלכסנדר סעודה, as editors who have contributed to the COP28 article, and STEMinfo and Encoded as I note that you have engaged thoughtfully across other requests in the COI edit request backlog. I look forward to hearing your various thoughts on this proposed action, and on any other open points within this request. Dedemocha (talk) 15:37, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

I've had a look through some sources and am inclined to favor changing the wording to "production capacity." I can't find any sources that say Adnoc planned to raise actual output to 4 million barrels a day, not even the BBC source currently in the article. (Would like to see the sources Cartador mentioned, though.) The difference is a little trivial, since obviously companies increase output capacity with the goal of increasing output, but if we're citing an actual number I'd err on the side of the exact wording the source uses. Tserton (talk) 20:42, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Ah, my bad, I just saw what Cartador meant - the BBC source mentions a goal of 1.5 billion barrels in output per year, which equates to 4 million a day. With that in mind, I would also prefer keeping it as "output." As always with contextless numbers, it might be useful to also include Adnoc's share of global production to give a sense of scale. Tserton (talk) 20:47, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Thank you Tserton for weighing in and taking a close look at these sources (though I do have to note my disagreement on the 1.5 billion point, as this is referring to the same 2030 capacity projections as the other bpd figures).

Would you mind taking a similar look at the other points that I have raised and discussed with Cortador in this request? I think they would really benefit from fresh eyes, especially the matter of potentially adding the consensus agreement to the introduction, which definitely needs an outside opinion. Dedemocha (talk) 10:00, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

@Dedemocha: I'd like to help, but need you to help also. It's a bit hard to follow this request which has been partially answered. Can you repost your request for what remains to be done? And can you use the before and after text format I describe here so we can more easily see what you are asking? See User:STEMinfo/COI edit requests for novices STEMinfo (talk) 20:58, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

September Request Reformat FAO STEMinfo

@STEMinfo thank you for taking the time to consider the outstanding parts of my request. I have reformatted it in the way which you have requested. Please let me know if you have any questions.

1. Could a sentence be added to indicate the international response to Sultan Al Jaber's work as President of COP28 in the second paragraph of the lead:

−

Al Jaber is the UAE's special envoy for [[climate change]], and the president of the [[COP28]] climate talks. His appointment as head of the COP28 climate talks was strongly criticized by environmentalists due to his track record at ADNOC. As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has overseen a substantial expansion of gas and oil production at the same time that [[fossil fuel industries]] are under pressure to reduce output in order to [[mitigate climate change]].

+

Al Jaber is the UAE's special envoy for [[climate change]], and the president of the [[COP28]] climate talks. Following the summit, his role as president has been recognized due to the delivery of a climate agreement that contained language directing a "transition away" from fossil fuels for the first time. His appointment as head of the COP28 climate talks was strongly criticized by environmentalists due to his track record at ADNOC. As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has overseen a substantial expansion of gas and oil production at the same time that [[fossil fuel industries]] are under pressure to reduce output in order to [[mitigate climate change]].

Al Jaber is the UAE's special envoy for climate change, and the president of the COP28 climate talks. Following the summit, his role as president has been recognized due to the delivery of a climate agreement that contained language directing a "transition away" from fossil fuels for the first time.  His appointment as head of the COP28 climate talks was strongly criticized by environmentalists due to his track record at ADNOC. As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has overseen a substantial expansion of gas and oil production at the same time that fossil fuel industries are under pressure to reduce output in order to mitigate climate change. His appointment as head of the COP28 climate talks was strongly criticized by environmentalists due to his track record at ADNOC. As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has overseen a substantial expansion of gas and oil production at the same time that fossil fuel industries are under pressure to reduce output in order to mitigate climate change.

References

Reason: Sources acknowledge that Sultan Al Jaber, as COP28 President, played an important role in the finalisation of this agreement which was the first COP text which mentioned a global shift away from using fossil fuels. @Cortador agreed to add this to the "COP28 Presidency" section, and has indicated that consensus from other editors on this point would be useful in deciding whether to include this in the introduction as well as in the text.

 Done except you didn't put your sources inline after the info you wanted added. I put the info at the end of the lead, where it made more sense. The info was also in the body, but was unsourced as well. STEMinfo (talk) 22:58, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

2. In the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company section, the third paragraph refers to output, but this figure actually refers to production capacity and should be changed accordingly:

−

As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has sought to increase ADNOC's output of crude oil from 3 million barrels of oil a day in 2016 to 5 million by 2030.

+

As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has sought to increase ADNOC's crude oil production capacity from 3 million barrels of oil a day in 2016 to 5 million by 2030.

As head of ADNOC, Al Jaber has sought to increase ADNOC's crude oil production capacity from 3 million barrels of oil a day in 2016 to 5 million by 2030.

References

Reason: While Cortador has indicated that some sources utilise "output", other secondary sources such as these FT and Reuters articles use "production capacity".

 Done I put in your verbiage and source but left the BBC info there, for balance. I'm not sure how anyone can claim that production capacity won't turn into actual production in a few years. Isn't that the point of increasing capacity? STEMinfo (talk) 23:30, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

3. Also in the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company section, the beginning of the fourth paragraph states that "Al Jaber has tried to position himself as an environmental advocate". This should be changed to:

−

Al Jaber has tried to position himself as an environmental advocate.

+

Al Jaber has tried to position the UAE as a leader on environmental issues.

Al Jaber has tried to position the UAE as a leader on environmental issues.

References

Reason: The change is a lot closer to the NYT article wording which states "For more than a decade he has tried to position the Persian Gulf state as a leader on environmental issues, acting at the behest of Abu Dhabi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed."

Many thanks again for considering this request. Dedemocha (talk) 16:09, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

No to the first suggestion. The article lead paragraph needs to reflect the body, and the criticism significantly outweighs the achievements of the summit, which is a single sentence (though well-sources). The lead needs to follow the body here.

No to the second suggestion. The article uses the term "output". "Production capacity" is not used in the article's voice, but that of ADNOC, and so we shouldn't used it either.

I've implemented the third suggestion. I've left in the descriptor of Al Jaber as an environmental advocate, as the article calls him that as well. Cortador (talk) 05:45, 25 September 2024 (UTC)