"Our great investment is Planet Earth". That's the motto of COP28, but it may not be entirely true. The United Arab Emirates has planned to use its role as host of COP28, the climate summit organized by the United Nations (UN), to close deals on fossil fuels, namely oil and natural gas.

This was revealed by a BBC investigation, which analyzed documents proving the Arab country's intention to sign agreements with 15 countries that will be present at the event.

A UN source told the BBC that COP hosts are expected to act without bias or self-interest, with the United Arab Emirates lamenting that "private meetings are private", not denying that meetings are even being prepared with a view to fossil fuel negotiations.

The documents, which were obtained by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC, state that the teams organizing the event have prepared meetings with at least 27 foreign governments, with COP28 starting on November 30 and running until December 12.

Among these documents were "points of contact" between delegations, including that of China, which said that Adnoc, the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates, is "willing to evaluate joint natural gas opportunities" in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.

The same documents show that Adnoc is "ready" to support Colombia in developing its fossil resources, and further talks were planned with delegations from Germany or Egypt, with whom Adnoc wanted to work directly.

Other points of contact were maintained with Masdar, the United Arab Emirates company responsible for managing renewable energies. These include commercial opportunities with the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kenya.

COP28 will be the latest global meeting to discuss the fight against climate change. This year, almost 170 world leaders are expected in Dubai, including personalities such as Pope Francis and King Charles.