The choice of a leading oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, to host this year’s U.N. climate talks has angered environmental activists. But for the Emirates and other countries both highly dependent on oil and deeply vulnerable to rising temperatures, grappling with climate change is an urgent dilemma for them, too. If the world abandons oil too quickly, the powerful authoritarian state that the Emirati rulers have built in 50 years could crumble as the revenue that finances much of their budget dwindles. It is an extreme example of the choices faced by many other countries as well in a world addicted to fossil fuels. “Our leadership are very future-oriented and already many years ago understood how important it is for us to diversify,” Mariam Almheiri, the Emirati minister of climate change and environment, said in an interview last week.

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Persons: ” Mariam Almheiri Organizations: United Arab, Emirates Locations: United Arab Emirates, Emirates