Azerbaijan wins backing from Eastern Europe nations to host COP29 climate summit
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Eastern European nations agreed during the ongoing COP28 summit to back Baku’s bid to host the COP29 climate summit.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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DUBAI – Azerbaijan is poised to host 2024’s COP29 climate change summit after winning backing from other Eastern European nations.
The decision, which resolves months of geopolitical deadlock over where the next annual UN climate summit will be held, quickly drew focus to Azerbaijan’s oil production and its human rights record.
With the rotating presidency of the summit shifting to Eastern Europe next year, nations from the region agreed during the ongoing COP28 summit in Dubai to back Baku’s bid, the co-chairs of the group of countries said in a letter the UN climate change body on Dec 9.
“We’re very grateful to all countries, in particular to the Eastern European group and the [COP28 summit] host United Arab Emirates for their support,” Azerbaijan’s Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev said in an address from the main stage at COP28 on Dec 9.
The decision on who would host COP29 had been held up after Russia vowed to veto any bid by a European Union country. The EU has imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The bid by Azerbaijan, which is not an EU member, needs approval from the nearly 200 countries present at the COP28 talks. Delegates said they expected the vote to be a formality.
Director of policy and strategy Richard Black of the energy think-tank Ember wrote on social media site X: “The road from #COP28 will, it seems, lead to Baku, possibly the world’s first ‘oil capital’ a thousand years ago, where Marco Polo documented oil being traded, and where tourists can still top up their health by getting into a bath of crude.”
To win the bid, Azerbaijan reached an agreement with long-time adversary Armenia that assured it would not face the threat of an Armenian veto.
But Baku’s relations with some Western countries have deteriorated since September, when Azerbaijan retook full control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting an exodus of the territory’s ethnic Armenian population.
Holding the presidency of a UN climate summit gives a country huge influence on its agenda and outcomes.
The COP28 summit in the UAE has been the biggest yet, with more than 90,000 delegates registered.
While the decision on who will host the event is usually made years in advance to allow countries time to prepare, Mr Aykhan Hajizada, a spokesperson at Azerbaijan’s ministry of foreign affairs, said that Baku was well-equipped to handle the event.
When Azerbaijan’s bid was first reported on Dec 7
Mr Hajizada said he understood those concerns, and noted Azerbaijan’s plans to diversify its energy sources to include more wind and solar power.
The European Commission last year signed a memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan to double imports of Azeri natural gas as part of its strategy to diversify away from Russia.
Legitimacy to the government
Ms Zhala Bayramova, daughter of anti-corruption researcher Gubad Ibadoghlu, who was jailed in Azerbaijan after criticising the country’s oil and gas industry, told Reuters she was appalled at the decision.
“He is risking his life for this work,” Ms Bayramova said. “This work is quite meaningless when you have COP29 hosted in Azerbaijan.”
She added: “Having COP29 gives legitimacy to the government.”
A spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Dr Ibadoghlu.
Dr Ibadoghlu, a professor at the London School of Economics, was arrested on charges of dealing with counterfeit money and extremism when visiting family in Azerbaijan in July.
He had served from 2013-2019 as the civil society representative to the board of the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (Eiti), an organisation that advocates for open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources.
The US State Department and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe earlier this year condemned Dr Ibadoghlu’s arrest and demanded his release. The EU in September adopted a joint motion to demand an investigation into the arrest.
“We can’t let Azerbaijan use COP29 to distract from its abysmal record on freedom of speech and human rights,” said Mr Joe Bardwell, a spokesman for Publish What You Pay, the organisation that created the Eiti.
“As a major oil producer, Azerbaijan will need to listen to its critics,” he said. REUTERS
