Fossil fuels are essential for the East Caucasus country, which shares borders with Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran. Azerbaijan’s economy is one of the most dependent on oil and gas, which accounts for nearly 60% of its revenue, according to the United Nations. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev once called the country’s reserves a “gift from God”, with the capital Baku itself located on an oil field.

All of this makes hosting the world’s largest climate conference really strange. Welcome to COP29.

World climate leaders will travel to Baku for the U.N. Conference of the Parties, known as the COP, a two-week summit starting Monday where world leaders will debate methods to solve climate change. This year’s event was billed as the finance COP, with a focus on how to find the money for the transition away from fossil fuels and limiting global warming.

COP President Mukhtar Babayev is a veteran of the national oil company SOCAR. But summit organizers say Azerbaijan’s ties to fossil fuels should not be a cause for concern.

“Our approach and the starting point is that we are all together in this effort, we are committed to contributing to global climate action and that is why we offered to host COP29,” he said. said Samir Bejanov, deputy chief negotiator for COP29.

“We are (an) oil and gas producer, that’s true,” Bejanov said. “We are not shying away from our history, but at the same time, if you look at what we are doing in terms of renewable energy, Azerbaijan is looking at investing billions in renewable projects.

Critics note that the country is seeking to increase its natural gas exports, particularly to Europe. Bejanov said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing European demand justified additional investment in the sector.

This is not the first time that a fossil fuel producing country has hosted the COP. Last year’s event was held in the United Arab Emirates and next year’s is set to be held in Brazil, the newest member of the oil-producing cartel, OPEC.

“It is clear that Azerbaijan’s plans to continue to increase fossil fuel production are not consistent with its commitment to lead by example by submitting an NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution). ) aligned with the temperature limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius, alongside its fellow COP troika. members of the UAE and Brazil,” said Shady Khalil, senior global policy strategist at clean energy research and advocacy group Oil Change International.

Khalil added that Azerbaijan, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates plan to increase their oil and gas production by 32% by 2035. “These are not the actions of credible climate leaders,” Khalil added .

The conference comes after the United Nations Environment Program warned that the Paris goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century would be “dead within a few years” if only Current policies aimed at limiting global warming remained in place. increase current spending levels by 3.1 degrees by 2100.

The effects of climate change are already becoming more pronounced on a global scale. Floods in Spain a week before the conference left hundreds dead, while wildfires, droughts and storms are becoming more frequent.

One of the main discussions at the COP will also focus on NDCs, i.e. the outlines of individual countries’ plans to combat climate change and stay aligned with the 1.5 degree target. The deadline for submitting these proposals is February, although some countries, including Azerbaijan, are expected to submit their proposals at the summit.

This year’s attendance will likely be much lower than last year, with a number of companies choosing to send smaller delegations or skip the conference altogether, in part because of its location. More than 80,000 people took part in Dubai, and less than half that figure is expected in Baku, according to the UN.

The US delegation is expected to be led by John Podesta, President Biden’s senior adviser on international climate policy. However, President-elect Donald Trump said he would withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, which he did during his first presidency, obscuring much of U.S. climate policy ahead of the conference.

Most major banks, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, chose not to send their executives, although the summit was dedicated to financing the energy transition. However, the oil and gas industry should be well represented. The chief executive of Exxon Mobil is expected to be present while British oil giant BP, closely linked to Azerbaijan’s destiny since the fall of the Soviet Union and very present in the country, is also expected to show its support for the host country.

At the same time, many expect that senior Russian officials and business leaders will be present, given Azerbaijan’s close ties with Russia, including those that have been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Baku this summer.

Human rights groups say Azerbaijan aims to strengthen its international position and give legitimacy to the country’s government by hosting the summit. It hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 and is now a regular feature on the Formula 1 calendar. The president has been in power in the theoretical democracy since 2003, preceded by his father after whom Baku’s main airport was named.

Over the past year, more than a dozen journalists have been arrested in the country, according to human rights charities. The European Parliament has denounced the treatment of opposition activists and leaders in the country.

In 2023, Azerbaijan launched an invasion of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which borders Armenia and is disputed between the two countries. He expelled some 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the region and took dozens of prisoners in the process. BP plans to build a solar project in the disputed region.

“Azerbaijan is using the COP to greenwash its international reputation to continue producing oil and gas for decades and disrupt international politics,” said Patrick Galey, senior investigator at Global Witness.

Despite strong ties to fossil fuels and human rights concerns, Azeris are eager to tout their country’s ecological credentials. Its goal is for 30% of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, by building wind and solar farms.

“We not only plan to invest in renewable energy and clean technologies in the country, but we also plan to export them in the near future and we plan to export five gigawatts of clean electricity to the European market. So it’s not just about Azerbaijan,” said COP29 deputy chief negotiator Bejanov.

“All countries have different starting points on the investments required to decarbonize the existing system and build a renewable system of the future. And also ensure that the transition is fair and that it differs according to national circumstances,” he added.

Write to Yusuf Khan at [email protected]

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