Top advertising and PR agencies have been instrumental in promoting the COP28 conference whilst simultaneously working with fossil fuel companies, new research shared by campaign group Clean Creatives reveals.
It follows a series of leaked documents which suggested that the UAE planned to use the climate talks to make oil deals.
The conference, particular the role of its president Sultan Al Jaber who also chairman of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has been subject to controversy around greenwashing.
According to the Clean Creatives investigation, ten agencies, including Edelman, FGS Global, First International Resource, Apco, FleishmanHillard, Omnia, Teneo and Viola Communications, were hired to help promote the UAE and COP28 talks.
Yet, from 2021 to 2023 they also worked on 29 fossil fuel contracts, including nine contracts for Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and Adnoc.
A further eight agencies including Memac Ogilvy, Publicis Sapient MENA, Fusion 5, Boopin, Bround Lounge, Hill and Knowlton, Markettiers and All About Brands, held 18 contracts with fossil fuel companies and nine with Masdar and Adnoc..
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According to the Clean Creatives research, the eighteen agencies working on COP28, Adnoc and Masdar had a total of 64 fossil fuel linked contracts from 2021 to 2023 (26 for the UAE, COP28, Masdar and Adnoc, and 38 for other fossil fuel linked companies.
“The COP28 talks would not be taking place in Dubai if not for fossil fuel greenwashing provided by advertising and PR agencies. 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,” said Clean Creatives executive director Duncan Meisel.
“Working for climate action is incompatible with working for fossil fuel polluters driving the emergency, and the agencies associated with COP28 should drop their fossil fuel contracts immediately”.
Clean Creatives research director Nayantara Dutta added: “COP28 has become the United Arab Emirates’ golden ticket to use PR to improve its global reputation. Since 2007, the UAE has been working with PR agencies, including Edelman, ASDA’A BCW and APCO, to rebrand itself as a renewable energy leader while actually doubling its oil and gas production.”
“In preparation for COP28, our research reveals that the UAE worked with a staggering ten agencies on 17 high-turnover contracts for COP28, the UAE, Masdar and ADNOC.”
“These talks should be the world’s biggest stage for climate action, but they’ve become a petrostate’s reputation campaign”.
