Another oil state
The next world climate conference will take place in Azerbaijan
December 9, 2023, 4:23 p.m
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The venue for the next UN climate conference will come as a huge surprise, especially for climate activists. After all, Azerbaijan is once again an oil state. The environmental organization Germanwatch is sharply critical.
Next year’s World Climate Conference will once again take place in an oil state: Azerbaijan. “I am pleased to announce that there is widespread support for Azerbaijan’s candidacy to host COP29,” Azerbaijan’s Environment Minister Mukhtar Babayev told the plenary session in Dubai.
Armenia had previously blocked the neighboring country’s candidacy. However, in the event of a rapprochement between the two hostile states, Armenia has now declared that it will support Azerbaijan’s request for alignment. According to the rotation principle of the climate conference, a group of Eastern European countries will be the hosts next year. There were long discussions there beforehand. Russia also welcomed the agreement on Azerbaijan.
The environmental organization Germanwatch criticized the decision: “The fact that Azerbaijan, after Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, is another oil state leading the climate negotiations is highly problematic,” said political director Christoph Bals. There are also major problems with corruption.
If an agreement had not been reached in this group, the next climate conference would have taken place in Bonn – where the United Nations Climate Secretariat is located. If no other host can be found, the global community meets there for its annual meeting.