The United Nations annual climate conference known as COP28 kicked off Thursday in Dubai, familiar turf for the fossil fuel industry.
This year's conference president, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, also heads the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The United Arab Emirates produces millions of barrels of oil every day.
The choice to set the annual climate talks in a petrostate has left some in disbelief.
"Here's an oil company and oil company CEO and oil state that's essentially driving the agenda for this gathering of global leaders," said Jeff Mikulina, a local climate strategist. "To some, this is just shaping up to be a contest between two radically irreconcilable views of the world and our future on it."
Before the negotiations began, the BBC and the Centre for Climate Reporting obtained an internal document suggesting that al-Jaber and his team intended to push oil deals while at the conference.
Al-Jaber has rejected those reports and reaffirmed his commitment to the conference's climate objectives, saying that clean energy investments by the fossil fuel industry are critical to curbing global warming.
But many fossil fuel companies, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, have plans to increase oil and natural gas production in coming years.
"Clearly, they're not taking this seriously," Mikulina said. "They still want to have it both ways. And our climate just cannot handle both ways."
Despite the controversy, some policymakers feel that the fossil fuel industry still needs to be at the table to craft any realistic strategy to reduce emissions.
Hawaiʻi State Energy Officer Mark Glick said there's "absolutely a role for fossil fuel companies" in any realistic global strategy to reduce emissions. But Glick added that he's wary of producers that are slow to commit to specific cuts.
"The proof is in the pudding," Glick said. "If you really aren't making those investments in real substantial ways, then you're greenwashing."
For the first time, countries will also take stock of progress towards the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement laid out at COP21. Nearly 200 parties pledged to attempt to "limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels."
Hawaiʻi passed legislation to implement parts of the Paris Agreement in 2017. The state will get its own climate report card later this month with the latest decarbonization study.
Mikulina said that the state will likely fall short of its goals, with per capita emissions still three times higher than they need to be by 2030.
Glick, whose office is tasked with preparing the report, agreed there's a long way to go.
Still, he's confident that Hawaiʻi can make progress.
"The Legislature and the public have expressed their deep interest and concern over global warming, and wants us to do our part," Glick said.
Matthew Gonser, the executive director for Honolulu's Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, described the climate crisis as an "all hands on deck" situation. He said that while COP28 can feel abstract, the commitments that global powers make do impact federal policy, which in turn shape investments in Hawaiʻi.
Ultimately, Gonser said Hawaiʻi needs to lead the way in the fight against climate change.
"We will need to continue to do investments in climate change adaptation to prepare for increasing temperatures, increasing sea level rise, more variable rainfall patterns," Gonser said. "And we'll need to do more of that, especially if we're unsuccessful at the national and international levels."
