Azerbaijan to host COP29 with regional support

By Aya El Sayed On Dec 10, 2023

The Flame Towers, a trio of skyscrapers in Baku, Azerbaijan. credit: Bloomberg- Thomas Eisenhuth.

Azerbaijan is set to host next year’s 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) after it secured the support of other Eastern European countries on Saturday.

“We’re very grateful to all countries, in particular to the Eastern European group and the COP28 host, the United Arab Emirates, for their support,” said Azerbaijan’s Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev.

The resolution of the months-long geopolitical stalemate regarding the location of the upcoming annual U.N. climate summit has swiftly shifted attention towards Azerbaijan’s oil production and its record on human rights.

Azerbaijan, which is not part of the EU, requires the endorsement of almost 200 nations attending the COP28 discussions for its proposal. The delegates anticipate the voting process to be a mere formality.

In order to secure the bid, Azerbaijan has reached a deal with its longstanding rival, Armenia, ensuring that it will not be subjected to an Armenian veto.

Baku’s relationships with some Western nations have been strained since September, when Azerbaijan retook full control of the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, leading to a large-scale departure of the region’s Armenian community.

Aykhan Hajizada, a representative from Azerbaijan’s foreign affairs ministry, stated to Reuters on Friday that Baku possesses the necessary capabilities to manage the event effectively.

After the news of Azerbaijan’s bid on Thursday, there were concerns about hosting global climate discussions in another oil-rich country that, as an OPEC member, is a producer of oil and gas.

Richard Black, the director of policy and strategy at energy think tank Ember, said 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.”

Hajizada expressed understanding of these concerns and highlighted Azerbaijan’s intentions to broaden its energy mix with a greater emphasis on wind and solar power.