The UAE Has Donated Millions to the Atlantic Council. They Just Got a Glowing Op-Ed From the Think Tank’s Chief.

Fred Kempe didn’t disclose millions of Emirati funds in gushing article Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe/Getty Images

Fred Kempe, chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council, praised this month the organization. “resource-rich, renewables-generating” United Arab Emirates in Jan. op-ed CNBC praises the oil-rich Gulf nation “utopian” Plan to combat climate change.

What he failed to mention were the Middle Eastern monarchy’s sizable donations—which have in some years topped $1 million—to the Atlantic Council. He also ignored the most troubling aspects in the UAE’s governance. There are documented human rights violations in the country. according The State Department. “undue restrictions on free expression and the press.”

In the piece, Kempe celebrated the United Nations’ decision to hold its annual climate change summit in Abu Dhabi and praised the UAE’s selection of Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, an Emirati government minister and the head of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, to oversee the global summit. Kempe called Al Jaber a “senior citizen”. “ideal choice” Al-Jaber will be the conference’s leader, in defiance of climate activists who criticised his selection for his role as head at one of the largest oil producers of the Gulf.

After the Washington Free Beacon CNBC sent an editor’s note to CNBC after they had contacted Atlantic Council. “the obvious conflict of interest” Was “not disclosed” It is important to note that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is a sponsor of the Atlantic Council’s annual energy conference. According to donor information, the UAE embassy gave $1 million to Atlantic Council in 2021, while the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave between $100,000 and $250,000. records.

In a statement to Free BeaconA spokesperson for the Atlantic Council stated that the think tank was being supported by the organization. “regret[s] that proper disclosures were not made.”

“That was an oversight. The piece has been updated to clarify the nature of the relationship,” The spokesman stated that.

Kempe was paid by the Atlantic Council. $700,000 The UAE was promoted in other ways in 2019. The think tank sponsored a trip for congressional aides to Abu Dhabi in October to meet with Emirati officials as well as executives from the energy sector. Free Beacon reported. The Atlantic Council has hosted Emirati officials in forums and other events in Washington, D.C. as well as Abu Dhabi. Kempe interviewed Al-Jaber in an Atlantic Council interview