COP29 Chief Executive Exposed for Promoting Fossil Fuel Investments

Elnur Soltanov, chief executive of COP29 and deputy energy minister of Azerbaijan, has been caught in secret footage discussing potential fossil fuel investments, raising significant concerns about his role in the climate conference and its integrity.

A senior figure at the upcoming COP29 climate change conference has found himself embroiled in controversy. Elnur Soltanov, the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, was allegedly caught on secret video discussing potential fossil fuel investments, directly contradicting the conference's mission to address climate change.

In a report by the BBC, Soltanov can be heard talking about "investment opportunities" within Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas company, SOCAR. The footage was obtained through a sting operation by the human rights organization Global Witness, which placed an actor posing as a representative of a fake Hong Kong investment firm interested in sponsoring COP29. During their meeting, Soltanov indicated that not only were discussions about "green transitioning projects" welcomed, but he expressed enthusiasm for exploring opportunities in oil and gas production.

Transcript excerpts reveal Soltanov discussing the significant gas fields within Azerbaijan that are primed for development, asserting that "there are a lot of joint ventures that could be established." He even went as far as to label natural gas a "transitional fuel," despite the widely accepted scientific consensus that new fossil fuel projects are incompatible with international goals for limiting global warming.

This incident marks a troubling repeat for the COP process, coming on the heels of last year’s COP28 revelations involving the UAE's efforts to negotiate oil deals. Christiana Figueres, a former UN official involved in the historic Paris Agreement, characterized Soltanov's actions as a "betrayal" of the climate agenda, emphasizing the inherent conflict of interest posed by a COP official also holding a significant position in the energy sector.

As COP29 is set to commence in Baku, the implications of Soltanov's negotiations could undermine the conference's objectives. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has certain expectations of impartiality and fairness for its officials, which Soltanov’s actions appear to breach.

Thus far, the Azerbaijan COP29 team has not offered comments regarding the serious allegations against Soltanov. With substantial portions of Azerbaijan's economy tied to oil and gas, the intersection between economic interests and climate commitments remains a contentious issue poised to shape discussions at COP29.