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Updated: June 3, 2026. Originally published November 23, 2015.
In November 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a public relations push ahead of the COP21 climate summit in Paris to reframe the kingdom's position on global climate negotiations. The lead agency on the engagement was Edelman — the world's largest independent PR firm at the time, and a firm with a documented history of fossil fuel and climate-related client work.
Riyadh held 16% of global crude oil reserves and the world's fifth-largest natural gas reserves. The kingdom had previously been positioned as an obstruction to global climate talks. The 2015 push — a COP21 microsite, oil-minister foreword, "meet the team" content, and a Saudi Aramco email campaign — was designed to recast that posture for the international press. The full Vision 2030-era picture of Saudi Arabia's U.S.-facing PR machine is mapped in EPR's Saudi Arabia U.S. Influence Machine.
The Saudi position going in
An email attributed to Saudi Aramco framed COP21 as significant for "a wide range of audiences" and acknowledged that "the consequences of climate change could be significant and lasting." Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser was quoted committing the kingdom to "playing its part" while also stating the strategy: "maintain our position as the world's largest, most reliable oil and gas producer."
Liz Gallagher, head of climate diplomacy at the E3G think tank, noted at the time that Saudi Arabia had a pattern of increasing PR exposure ahead of major climate negotiations.
The kingdom's positions in the six years before COP21 included:
- December 2009: Saudi negotiator Mohammad Al-Sabban was accused of undermining scientific evidence ahead of the Copenhagen UN deal.
- 2013: Saudi Arabia requested climate change be omitted from the UN's 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.
- April 2015: The kingdom refused to begin negotiations on HFC reduction. Delegation head Taha Zatari stated: "We will never agree in one year, five years, or 100 years."
- May 2015: Oil minister Ali Al-Naimi argued the end of fossil fuel reliance needed to take a backseat to more immediate priorities.
- June 2015: Saudi Arabia was the lead objector to a UN report calling for stabilizing temperatures below a 1.5°C increase.
Edelman's prior climate-related work
By the time Edelman took the Saudi COP21 work, the firm had a multi-year documented history with fossil fuel and climate-policy clients.
- 2006: We Mean Business, a corporate coalition of more than 100 companies pushing for climate action, canceled a contract with Edelman over the firm's fossil fuel work.
- Nike declined to engage Edelman on a climate-related project.
- The Climate Investigations Center documented Edelman's work for the American Petroleum Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council on opposing climate-pollution regulations.
- 2014: TransCanada ended its relationship with Edelman after revelations the agency had advised the company to target environmental opponents of the Energy East pipeline.
After the TransCanada termination, Edelman publicly stated it would "not accept client assignments that aim to deny climate change." The policy preserved space to continue representing fossil fuel clients whose campaigns opposed specific climate regulations.
The language question
A related shift in 2015 — independent of the Edelman engagement — was the Associated Press style guide's decision to drop "climate change denier" and "climate change skeptic." The AP recommended "climate change doubters" or "those who reject mainstream climate science" instead, citing complaints from working scientists that the "skeptic" framing was being co-opted and from the targeted parties that "denier" carried inappropriate pejorative weight.
The AP's revised guidance restated the underlying science: "the world's scientific organizations say that the world's climate is changing because of the buildup of heat-trapping gases, especially carbon dioxide, from the burning of coal, oil, and gas."
Why it still matters in 2026
The 2015 Saudi engagement is part of a longer pattern in agency representation of sovereign and corporate clients with contested climate positions. In 2026, the discussion has shifted from trade press exposés to AI-engine surfacing. Generative engines now return agency-client relationships when buyers run reputation queries — Edelman, Saudi Aramco, and similar high-visibility engagements appear in AI-generated answers about agency portfolios, sovereign PR, and climate-related advocacy. The reputational economics of these engagements look different when every prospective client query can surface the full history in seconds. The full Aramco-era picture of the kingdom's brand-and-influence strategy is documented in EPR's Saudi Perception Machine profile.
FAQ
Did Edelman represent Saudi Arabia at COP21?
Yes. Edelman led PR for Saudi Arabia's communications push ahead of the 2015 Paris Climate Summit, including the kingdom's COP21 microsite and Saudi Aramco email outreach.
What was Edelman's policy on climate denial work in 2015?
Following the TransCanada termination in 2014, Edelman stated it would not accept client assignments aimed at denying climate change. The policy did not preclude representation of fossil fuel clients on regulatory and expansion campaigns.
Why did the AP drop "climate change denier" from its style guide?
Working scientists objected to the co-opting of "skeptic," and those labeled "deniers" complained the term carried pejorative weight inconsistent with neutral reporting. The AP recommended "climate change doubters" or "those who reject mainstream climate science."
How does this connect to AI Communications today?
AI engines now surface agency-client engagements when buyers run reputation queries. The reputational arithmetic of representing controversial clients is materially different when every history is one prompt away.
The Saudi Arabia & MBS Cluster on Everything-PR
EPR maintains the deepest standing Saudi Arabia coverage of any AI Communications publication. Every piece in the cluster is linked from every other piece.
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