Azerbaijan: A Petrostate at the Center of COP29 Climate Talks

This year's U.N. climate negotiations face scrutiny as Azerbaijan, a petrostate with autocratic governance, takes the lead amidst global climate chaos and political tensions.

As the 2024 U.N.-sponsored climate negotiations approach, the spotlight is on Azerbaijan, the host country, which is grappling with the dual challenges of climate chaos and political repression. Located in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the talks are noteworthy for being held by a government that derives almost all its economic power from fossil fuels, the very agents pushing climate change worldwide.

The question arises: how did a nation so deeply reliant on oil and gas become the face of a global climate initiative? The answer lies within the labyrinth of U.N. protocol and procedural weaknesses. The annual climate summit is traditionally rotated among different countries each year. For COP29, the Eastern European bloc, incorporating several former Soviet states, was tasked with determining the host. However, the choice was complicated by internal divisions fueled by Russia's geopolitical maneuvers.

For months, dissent reigned within the Eastern European group, as Russia used its veto power to block potential candidates—countries that condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine, such as Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Moldova. This left Armenia and Azerbaijan as the last options for hosting the summit, despite their own long-standing territorial conflicts.

This peculiar situation serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities intertwining climate policy with global power dynamics, raising concerns about the authenticity of climate commitments from a nation whose economy thrives on fossil fuel. As world leaders prepare for tense negotiations in Baku, the integrity and efficacy of climate targets hang in the balance.