At the start of COP29, the country’s authoritarian leader Ilham Aliyev defended Azerbaijan’s current gas exports and plans to increase production by a third over the next decade.
“This is a gift from God,” he told those present in Baku.
“Every natural resource, whether it’s oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, they’re all natural resources,” he said.
“And you don’t blame countries for having them, and you don’t blame them for putting these resources on the market, because the market needs them, the people need them.”
The use of oil and gas is a major cause of global warming because when burned, they release gases that heat the planet, such as carbon dioxide.
President Aliyev also accused France of committing “crimes” by colonialists and “violations of human rights” in overseas territories.
Such strongly expressed views are extremely rare from the leader of the COP, where the aim is to reach a consensus on how to deal with rising temperatures.
The authors of the letter are also concerned about the selection process for the placement of the CS. Azerbaijan followed another major oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, in hosting a conference in Dubai last year.
“At the last COP, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered representatives of academic institutions, indigenous communities and vulnerable countries,” said former UN climate chief Christiana Figueras.
“We cannot hope to achieve a just transition without significant reforms to the COP process that ensure fair representation of those most affected.”
The authors state that host countries “must demonstrate a high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
They also want smaller, more frequent COPs with clear accountability for the promises countries make.
