Reactions as Azerbaijan fails to mention fossil fuels at UNGA speech
Activists have reacted to COP29 Host Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, who spoke on Saturday 28 September 2024 at the 79th United Nations General Assembly and outlined a few critical COP29 outcomes.
350.org recognizes and welcomes the mention of the need for a renewable energy uptake and the delivery of a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) at COP29, but expresses concern over Azerbaijan’s continued pattern of not mentioning ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’.
In addition, Bayramov repeated its pledge to a fund for climate action, a mere distraction and greenwashing attempt as long as contributing companies continue to expand fossil fuel production.
Andreas Sieber, 350.org Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns says: “While Azerbaijan mentioned the need for a fair NCQG agreement at COP29, it is deeply troubling that phasing out fossil fuels was completely absent from the speech. This has become a worrisome pattern. If Azerbaijan is really ‘ready to lead in the climate crisis’, why is it not mentioning how it will stop its main cause: burning oil, gas and coal?
The world is moving forward on this transition, as made clear by other leaders in New York. As COP29’s presidency, Azerbaijan must live up to this reality by showing the world how it will deliver ambitious targets aligned with 1.5°C and drive global progress. If Azerbaijan doesn’t do more, it will lose once and for all the little credibility it still has left.”
New analysis by Climate Action Tracker find’s Azerbaijan’s climate action “critically insufficient” after it scrapped its 2030 emissions target. New data shows that the Troika countries (Azerbaijan, the UAE and Brazil) are on track to increase their combined oil and gas production by 33% by 2035 in contradiction with their plans to apply pressure on countries to increase climate ambition.
As the COP29 presidency, the Azerbaijani government bears a critical responsibility as custodian to deliver new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aligned with the 1.5°C target and to implement the Global Stocktake’s mandate to phase out fossil fuels. It must also actively raise these expectations with other nations. 350.org is deeply concerned by Azerbaijan’s ongoing failure to show leadership, both domestically and on the international diplomatic stage.
