“Holding a COP in the capital of a country that lives off oil and gas looks more like a farce than a COP.” Questioned by RTL, the MEP from the Horizon party Nathalie Loiseau reacted to the organization of COP29 from this Monday, November 11. The event is held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, which is the cradle of oil – it was in Baku that the world's first drilling took place in the 19th century – is accused of pursuing policies contrary to the climate objectives of the conference. The country's authoritarian regime, which “regularly insults France” explains Nathalie Loiseau, has an economy heavily dependent on fossil fuels. So why organize a COP29 there, an international event intended to find solutions to the climate emergency?
The UN, organizer of these conferences, seeks to involve oil-producing countries in climate negotiations. The idea is that without the participation of these nations, it will be difficult to reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels.
Commitments not respected
To still have a chance of limiting the increase in warming to 1.5°C, it would be necessary halve oil and gas production in 10 years. Faced with this dramatic observation, the strategy put in place does not seem effective.
In 2023, a global agreement presented as historic was signed in the United Arab Emirates, promising to commit to the end of fossil fuels. However, they did exactly the opposite. They announced an increase of 34% by 2035.
They were followed by Azerbaijan, which plans to increase its gas production by 14%... and the future COP will be in Brazil, another oil country which will increase its production by a third.
Human rights violations
In Azerbaijan, in recent weeks, leading climate activists arrested. The Quai d'Orsay has warned French NGOs and journalists who will go there. We advise them to only talk about climate. If they were arrested on this matter, their United Nations accreditation would protect them in the event of a trial.
On the other hand, if they are arrested for having criticized the country's politics, the Quai d'Orsay no longer answers for anything. Shuttles will be set up every day between the hotels and the conference venue to escort French journalists. Why prefer to follow COP29 online.
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