Man In the Middle

For a taste of the United Arab Emirates, try the cappuccino at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel.
At around $25, it's a quality cup of coffee, but the gold flakes that come sprinkled on top are its primary selling point. Every turn in the Palace, one of the most expensive hotels ever built, radiates opulence: marble from floor to ceiling, more than 1,000 crystal chandeliers, gold trim, and a choice of Michelin-starred restaurants on site.
Just across the street is the source of the immense wealth that created this place, and transformed the UAE from a desolate patch of desert to a country with a higher GDP per capita (adjusted for purchasing power) than the U.S.: the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC. In contrast to the lavish hotel, the glass skyscraper is polished but efficient, the offices corporate, almost austere. Employees and visitors dress modestly, following the 13-page dress code manual I received ahead of my visit.
I traveled to Abu Dhabi in late October, not to sip gilded cappuccinos, but to interview Sultan Al Jaber, the Ph.D. economist turned renewable-energy executive turned ADNOC CEO, who is presiding over the U.N. climate conference to be held in Dubai in December. The conference, known as COP28, comes as, at the close of the hottest year on record, scientific consensus demands that we cut fossil-fuel use right now. At the same time, money continues to flow into fossil fuels; more than $1 trillion in new funding was invested this year alone, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Denne historien er fra December 04, 2023-utgaven av Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 04, 2023-utgaven av Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på

HOW THE FIGHTING ENDS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks out on Trump, Putin, and the price of peace

RAINN WILSON
The stories we tell as artists cannot ignore the science, writes the co-founder of Climate Basecamp

How to relax and unwind without drinking alcohol
ALCOHOL HAS LONG BEEN SYNONYMous with relaxation.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
It’s all about numbers for the special U.N. climate envoy. And the numbers don’t lie—taking action on climate makes economic sense

A traumatic Iraq War mission unfolds in real time
If a movie can be elegant and brutal at once, this one is

Health Matters
ON MARCH 25, THE U.S. FOOD and Drug Administration approved the first new antibiotic in 30 years to treat urinary-tract infections (UTIs).

The Venezuelans deported to El Salvador
ON THE NIGHT OF MARCH 15, three planes touched down in El Salvador from the U.S., carrying Venezuelans the Trump Administration had designated as gang members and deported without due process.

John Legend The 13-time Grammy winner on revisiting his debut album 20 years later, his roots in the Black church, and being sung to in airports
The title of the album says a lot: Get Lifted. What does that reference?

A 1993 queer classic gets a breezy update
BRINGING CHILDREN INTO THE WORLD AND raising them is generally considered one of life's great joys.

BILL FRIST
Working across the aisle requires talking about the human impacts of climate change