Editing Lobbying (section)

===United Arab Emirates===

The United Arab Emirates has a long history of lobbying government and politicians in the West for  its conflict of interest concerning building influence and using it to impact the country's foreign policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3ba8a1_cc7f1fad2f7a497ba5fb159a6756c34a.pdf?index=true|title=The Emirati Lobby: How the UAE Wins in Washington|accessdate=1 October 2019|website=Center for International Policy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-21/trump-ally-s-uae-lobbying-struck-heart-of-democracy-u-s-says#xj4y7vzkg|title=Trump Ally's UAE Lobbying Struck Heart of Democracy, U.S. Says|accessdate=20 July 2021|website=Bloomberg}}</ref> In November 2022 it was accused of hiring PR and lobbying firms in order to promote to the politicians in the United States about its selection to host the [[COP28]] Climate Conference. The problem was that the promotion started even before Egypt hosted 2022's [[COP27]] Climate event. Fleishmann Hillard were hired to compose letters that proposed the idea of Emirati ministers attending conferences and events and using the phrase "the UAE is hosting COP28 next year". Whereas, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld were hired to reach out to US politicians particularly pushing the environmental policies or favouring fossil fuels in addition to informing them about the UAE hosting COP28. The Gulf nation even declared its intentions of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, even though 30% of their GDP relies on oil and gas directly, while the remaining relies upon industry run on heavy energy consumption.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/16/uae-cop28-host-lobby-climate-reputation-cop27|title=UAE using role as Cop28 host to lobby on its climate reputation|accessdate=16 November 2022|website=The Guardian|date=16 November 2022 }}</ref>

In February 2024, New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone faced scrutiny after attending the COP28 conference. Johnstone's expenses, including the conference fees, travel and accommodation, were incurred by [[C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group]], of which Dubai is a member of the sterling committee. Councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas filed a complaint against Johnstone for breaking the state's code of conduct. The investigation was assigned to Commissioner Jennifer Devins, who, in her October 2024 report,  stated that Johnstone's trip provided personal benefits, which councillors are restricted from accepting. While Devins did not impose sanctions, she recommended  Johnstone to take training on the laws of country.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chan |first=Cheryl |title=New West mayor's all-expenses paid trip to Dubai breached ethics rules: Commissioner |date=1 November 2024 |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/new-west-mayor-trip-dubai-breached-ethics |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dubai, United Arab Emirates|website=C40 Cities|url=https://www.c40.org/cities/dubai/ |access-date= 21 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pawson |first=Chad|title=New West mayor accepts ethics commissioner's recommendation for training on receiving gifts |date=31 October 2024 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/new-westminster-mayor-patrick-johnstone-cop28-dubai-ethics-1.7370060 |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>

A firm based in UAE, Alasriya Media Consultancy paid $10,000 a former CIA analyst Larry Johnson to run his podcast Counter Currents. The podcast discusses global politics, including a pro-Russian narrative of the Ukraine war and US foreign policy in the Middle East. The contract was signed in May 2024, but was not disclosed in FARA filing until November. The Emirati firm is represented by a Lebanese celebrity journalist, Ghina Amyouni, whose reason for funding the podcast was unclear.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former CIA officer launches political podcast funded by UAE firm linked to Lebanese journalist |url=https://www.intelligenceonline.com/corporate-intelligence/2024/12/04/former-cia-officer-launches-political-podcast-funded-by-uae-firm-linked-to-lebanese--journalist,110347468-art |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=11 December 2024}}
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