2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference

2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference
Date11–24 November 2024 (2024-11-11 – 2024-11-24)
LocationBaku, Azerbaijan
Organised byAzerbaijan
ParticipantsUNFCCC member countries
PresidentMukhtar Babayev
Previous event← Dubai 2023
Next event→ Belém 2025

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29, will be the 29th United Nations Climate Change conference.[1] Mukhtar Babayev, an Azerbaijani government minister and a former employee of Azerbaijan's national oil company SOCAR, was named president-elect for COP29 In January 2024.[1][2]

COP29 climate committee

The conference's committee originally consistent of 28 men. After criticism voiced by the Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and others, another two men and eleven women were added to the panel.[3][4]

Criticism

The decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan was criticized by human rights activists and political analysts due to Azerbaijan's human rights abuses.[5][6][7] Michael Rubin, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and ex-Pentagon official wrote that Azerbaijan's victory in securing its bid to host COP may backfire: "Caviar diplomacy and PR-firm messaging may sway the naïve, ignorant, or easily bought, but a light will also shine on the country’s rentierism, corruption, and abuses."[8]

Azerbaijani authorities have previously been accused of using false environmentalism as part of its strategy to seize Nagorno-Karabakh.[9][10][11][12] Stephan Pechdimaldji, a communications strategist, wrote that "when attendees attend COP29 in Baku, they will also be visiting an area known to be 'the ecologically most devasted area in the world' by local scientists.[13][14] Simon Maghakyan in a Time article, describes Azerbaijan as "a repressive petro-aggressor" whose false environmentalism "make[s] a mockery of the existential crisis we face as a species" and "undermin[es] the credibility of what is likely the most important cause in the world."[15] According to the US government’s International Trade Administration, oil and gas production comprise half of Azerbaijan’s GDP and 92.5% of its export revenue in 2022.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gayle, Damien (2024-01-05). "Oil industry veteran to lead next round of Cop climate change summit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  2. ^ "Climate change: Former oil executive Mukhtar Babayev to lead COP29 talks in Azerbaijan". 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  3. ^ Hughes, Rebecca Ann (2024-01-17). "Azerbaijan's COP29 committee comprises 28 men and no women". Euro News. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  4. ^ Carrington, Damian (2024-01-19). "Women added to Cop29 climate summit committee after backlash". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  5. ^ Aghayev, Anna Edgar, Ismi (2023-12-13). "Controversy as COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan". OC Media. Retrieved 2024-01-05.{cite web}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "If Azerbaijan Wants Peace, It Should Share COP29". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  7. ^ "AND IN OTHER NEWS: Azerbaijan Begins "Greenwashing" Through COP29". Civilnet. 2024-01-03.
  8. ^ "If Azerbaijan Wants Peace, It Should Share COP29". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  9. ^ professional, Stephan Pechdimaldji public relations (2023-12-20). "Blood and Oil—How Azerbaijan Greenwashes Its Human Rights Record". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  10. ^ "Opinion | Greenwashing a blockade". OC Media. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  11. ^ Fantini, Ellen (2023-01-23). "Armenia: EU To Escalate Its Response As Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh Deepens". europeanconservative.com. Retrieved 2024-01-19. ...it is also apparent that the Azerbaijani government is currently paying PR firms to produce expert-signed environmentalist op-eds, one of which backfired when an Australian professor withdrew his signature after discovering the piece's backing.
  12. ^ "Azerbaijan Weaponized Environmentalism for Ethnic Cleansing". TIME. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  13. ^ professional, Stephan Pechdimaldji public relations (2023-12-20). "Blood and Oil—How Azerbaijan Greenwashes Its Human Rights Record". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  14. ^ "Azerbaijan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2024-01-17, retrieved 2024-01-19
  15. ^ "Azerbaijan Weaponized Environmentalism for Ethnic Cleansing". TIME. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  16. ^ Harvey, Fiona; Greenfield, Patrick; Carrington, Damian (2023-12-09). "Azerbaijan chosen to host Cop29 after fraught negotiations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-19.

External links

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