The Chechens ran Russia's show at COP28

For the Russian conference participants, the fighter jets that on the 6th of December flew low over the Arab capital with jet clouds in the colors of the Russian tricolor might have be one of the most memorable parts of the COP28. As climate negotiators from across the world discussed ways to save the planet against climate catastrophe, the UAE sent up its air force a in a greeting to Vladimir Putin who had come to town to meet President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The jet emissions left colorful clouds in the sky. But it was not emissions and climate talks that brought Putin to Abi-Dabi. Judging from statements from the Kremlin, the talks with the Arab sheikh were first of all about fossil fuels, economy and security.

The war against Ukraine has left Russia isolated on the international stage, but the UN climate conferences remain an arena open to the Russians. Reportedly, there were almost 600 Russian representatives at the event.

At the helm of the delegation stood former Chechen prime minister Ruslan Edelgeriev, who has been Putin’s envoy on climate issues since 2018. The 49-year old official, who served ten years in the Russian interior ministry before he in 2007 was was appointed Chechen Minister of Agriculture, is a close comrade with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and both men took part in the bilateral meeting between Putin and the UAE President.

For some, the appointment of Edelgeriev to the post as top climate envoy might seem like evidence of Russia’s ridicule of the international climate talks. But the Chechens and Russians praise his skills.

“He is a Specialist with big letter [and] with firm confidence I can say that he is a God-fearing, respectable person and also excellently educated, full of initiative and a multi-level specialist,” Kadyrov says about his man.

During the climate conference, Kadyorv sent a birthday video greeting to Edelgeriev, calling him “one of the sharpest representatives of his team.”

Ramzan Kadyrov posted birthday greeting to Edelgeriev on his VK page.

Edelgeriev won tribute from the Chechen strongman when he at the COP 15 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in 2022 started his address with a prayer and citation of the Koran.

“As far as I know, Edelgeriev is the first and so far only Russian official on federal level that has started his speech at an international event with the words of the Holy Koran,” Kadyrov wrote on his VK page.

“This once again shows that the Russian Federation is the best friend and business partner of the Moslem countries,” he underlined.

Climate envoy Edelgeriev recites Koran during address at climate conference. Video posted on Kadyrov’s VK page

Ruslan Edelgeriev and Ramzan Kadyrov were not the only Chechens in Dubai during the climate conference. Also several of Kadyrov’s relatives were in town. Among them was Akhmat Kadyrov, the 18-year old son of the strongman, that recently was appointed First Deputy Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy in the Chechen government.

In a video shared by his father, the inexperienced young man is seen meeting with Saeed Al Nazari, the Director General of the Federal Youth Authority of the UAE.

Ramzan Kadyrov’s son Akhmat in Dubai during the COP28. Video posted on Kadyrov’s VK page

Reportedly, also Kadyrov’s daughter Khadizhat, as well as her husband Adam Alkhanov, were visiting Dubai at the time. The latter is Chechen Minister of Health. According to Kavkaz.Realii, it is Edelgeriev that is counseling the Kadyrov family members during their stay in Dubai, and they all attended the COP28 plenary session and also met with representatives of the UAE, Syria and the Palestine National Authority.

The Kadyrov family is believed to own several properties in the UAE and have big money in national banks.

The UN climate meeting takes place on the backdrop of an increasingly alarming situation in global climate, and Russia is among the countries hardest affected. According to the latest climate report from the country’s Meteorological Service, Russia is experiencing an increase in air temperatures that by far exceeds global average. In 2022, the researchers found a national 0,87 °C divergence from the average of the period 1991-2020.

And the situation is even more notable in the Russian Arctic where the divergence was up to +1,1 °C.

However, Russian authorities are cautious about raising the alarm about the dramatic changes.

Moscow remains an ardent opponent of international efforts to phase out fossil fuels, and Ruslan Edelgeriev has repeatedly warned against an international hydrocarbon ban.

“We will in no case accept to be blackmailed by all kinds of corrective mechanism on hydrocarbons, a ban on coal and transformation to other energy sources that are unfavorable to us,” he said in last year’s St.Petersburg Economic Forum.

Symptomatically, before the start of the COP28, Russia adopted an updated version of its climate doctrine. As noted by newspaper Kommersant, the updated version of the document, unlike the one from 2009, does not include a mention about burning of fossil fuels as driver for climate gas emission.

Russia is heavily dependent on its oil and gas exports and the Kremlin argues that western powers seek to curb Russian oil under the disguise of climate efforts.

Ahead of the COP28, the country’s Minister of Environment Aleksandr Kozlov warned against a “politization” of climate issues.

“In the conference, our country will stand up against politization of the process, something that could unfold on the background of the complicated geopolitical situation,” Kozlov underlined in a newspaper interview.