The former prime minister’s Global Change Institute (TBI) has received funding from the authoritarian governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain as it continues to expand as an advisory service for foreign leaders.
It was also revealed that the organization was paid to advise the UAE in developing policy regarding COP28, which the UAE hosted.
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The TBI, of which Prime Minister Tony Blair is the unpaid executive chairman, has begun working with Bahrain’s leadership on a modernization program over the past 12 months, despite concerns about human rights abuses.
Last year, it was revealed that the TBI continued to do paid work for Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Prime Minister Blair’s staff have been helping to develop Vision 2030, the Gulf kingdom’s modernization plan led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In recent months, TBI has co-hosted events with Bahraini authorities. At a roundtable discussion in London in October, Bahrain’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa outlined his country’s desire to strengthen ties with the Blair government.
In December, it emerged that Prime Minister Tony Blair had been sent to support the COP28 leadership team, while other staff were also sent to provide advice.
The event was chaired by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is also the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and Prime Minister Tony Blair was among those who welcomed his appointment.
A briefing document prepared for Mr Al Jaber before his meeting with Prime Minister Blair in September outlined the efforts surrounding the meeting between Prime Minister Blair and the TBI.
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The memo, obtained by the Climate Reporting Center, mentioned TBI’s “continued support in CPD.” [COP president-designate] Office of Finance, Technology and Innovation”.
Under a section outlining the conference’s “key objectives”, the document states that the TBI intends to “seek support” from Prime Minister Tony Blair to “gather attendance” at COP28 from countries involved. .
It also outlined Prime Minister Al Jaber’s intention to question Prime Minister Blair about how to “build the media narrative” ahead of COP28.
The official participant list for the summit in Dubai states that four senior TBI staff were guests of the UAE and attended in an “unpaid advisory capacity”.
TBI, which was founded in 2016, said it was not paid for its work at COP28 and “does not seek or receive compensation for its support.” A spokesperson said it does paid work for the UAE, but not on climate issues.
TBI’s government advisory business revenue in 2022 was $111 million, compared with $75 million the previous year, according to a report released in October.
Prime Minister Blair announced a new policy to “refill the vast space in the political middle” aimed at combating the “terrible authoritarian populism” that he said was undermining faith in Western democracies. This institute was launched as a platform.
A TBI spokesperson said: “We are working with the Bahrain government and supporting their modernization program, which we strongly believe in, as well as our work in other regions.
“At COP28, TBI is committed to supporting vulnerable countries exposed to the negative impacts of climate change to create more resilient futures and pursue net zero at an achievable pace. wanted to help drive meaningful change and provided strategic and policy insights to support COP28 completely free of charge. We did not seek or receive compensation for our support. .”