Baku (Azerbaijan), report
« I want to repeat it here in front of this audience: it is a gift from God. » Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev repeats his mantra about oil and gas. On November 12, the second day of the COP29 in Baku, the speech of the invincible autocrat resulted in a fierce – and transparent – defense of the extraction of fossil fuels. Without the slightest restraint towards his detractors, the mustachioed man cut « the policy of double standards, the mania for lecturing and hypocrisy » leaders, activists and media from certain Western countries.
Leaving the podium to loud applause from the plenary « Nizami »the dictator in charge of the host country since 2003 exchanged a warm handshake with the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres. He did not correct the content of his speech, but was undoubtedly stunned by these words of almost unprecedented ferocity in international diplomacy. Still, the boss of theHIM started by thanking « welcome and hospitality » of the man who has just sent a chill to the hemicycle.
« We are in the final countdown »
« The sound you hear is that of the clock ticking. We are in the final countdown to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°Chowever, proclaimed the Portuguese. And time is not on our side. » Denouncing the absurdity of continuing investment in hydrocarbons, he called for a reduction of 30 % their production by 2030.
A wish at odds with the projections of the State welcoming the COPinstead counting on an increase of +14 % by 2035.
Free field for European nationalists
Until dusk on November 13, a battalion of 82 heads of state and government, vice-presidents and crown princes must parade at the Assembly desk. A formal high mass, called « Leaders Summit » and shunned by all the leaders of the countries that emit the most carbon dioxide. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, whose legitimacy has been terribly weakened by the election of Donald Trump, is skipping the exercise for the second year in a row. The leaders of Japan, Australia, China, India, Canada, South Africa and even Mexico also stand out for their absenteeism. Just like the dictator Vladimir Putin, King Charles and the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, although host of the next COP.
And the picture is hardly better on the European Union side. Emmanuel Macron, too, refused to travel. A first since 2019, justified by the strong diplomatic tensions maintained with Azerbaijan since France’s condemnation of the invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh by the army of Ilham Aliyev, in 2023. An ideal firing window, including Alexandre Lukashenko, Belarusian autocrat and close ally of Vladimir Putin, immediately seized: « How effective are our climate negotiations if the French president is not even present? ? »
The Hungarian nationalist, Viktor Orban, was able to take part in COP climate ambitions that are very different from those defended by the European Union.
© Emmanuel Clévenot / Reporterre
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are also not participating in the big rally. A boon for the Hungarian nationalist, Viktor Orban, having been able to implement climate ambitions very different from those defended by the European Union: « We must continue the green transition while maintaining our use of gas, oil and nuclear power. »he declared in particular at the bar. Expected today before the plenary, her far-right Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, risks adopting a similar posture.
Will poor countries “ leave Baku empty-handed » ?
Visibly more inclined to share the feeling of urgency ahead « the ticking of the clock »more than twenty African speakers described the tragic repercussions of climate change that their country faces on a daily basis. Just like the president of Nepal, bereaved by a monsoon and deadly landslides, as well as the figures of a slew of island nations: « Everything is threatenedlamented Ahmed Abdullah Afif Didi, Vice-President of Seychelles. We have to move our houses. »
Hilda Heine, one of nine women among the 82 leaders present at the COP29castigated the demobilization of rich countries at the time of putting their hands in their pockets. The president of the Marshall Islands, an island state that the Pacific could one day swallow up, however, addressed the chamber: « We know how to recognize when the trend reverses. And when it comes to climate, the trend is now reversing. »
Until November 22, an annual envelope ranging from 100 to 1,300 billion dollars (1,225 billion euros) must be debated to finance the transition of countries vulnerable to climate change. « [Ils] must not leave Baku empty-handed »Antônio Guterres insists.
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