The UAE presidency invited more than 9,000 to the formal business area in the “blue zone”, including about 5,000 guests outside of its own extended delegation, based on Financial Times analysis of a provisional UN list of attendees. Total attendance in Dubai is unconfirmed but estimated at about 80,000, based on the list.
The roster of chief executives on the UAE guest list included interim BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, commodity trading group Trafigura’s Jeremy Weir and Brookfield Asset Management’s Connor Teskey. BlackRock and Brookfield were involved in the $30bn fund launched by the UAE on Friday to invest in climate-related projects.
Both the renewable energy and fossil fuel sector were “at liberty at any other time of year to conduct business”, said Tessa Khan, an international climate change lawyer and campaigner. “At a moment that is so critical, any diversion of energy or focus from a really strong outcome and from the focus on a fossil fuel phaseout in particular is a concern.”