Experts appear to be beginning to see that the series of global climate summits, where participants arrive in private jets to sing odes about how to change the Earth’s millennia-old cycles of cooling and warming, may be in need of reform.
Leading climate experts including Ban Ki-moon, Mary Robinson, Christiana Figueres and Johan Rockström are calling for major changes at UN climate summits, according to a new report from The Guardian.
They suggest that future conferences should only be hosted by countries that demonstrate strong climate protection measures and demand stricter scrutiny of representatives of the fossil fuel lobby. More than 1,700 industry lobbyists attended Cop29, raising concerns about excessive influence.
The expert group encourages it UNto simplify annual summits, strengthen the voice of developing countries, and increase the frequency of meetings to more effectively address the climate crisis.
“It has now become clear that Cop is no longer capable of achieving its goals. We must move from negotiations to implementation” they wrote.
“Strict eligibility criteria are needed to exclude countries that do not support the phase-out or transition to fossil energy. Host countries must demonstrate a high level of commitment to meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement” they added.
Cop29, which is held in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, has reached its half-time amid scandals. Azerbaijan, whose oil and gas exports account for half of its economy, took over from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, where Adnoc chief Sultan Al Jaber retained his position at the peak.
Cop29 in Baku was attended by 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists, more than any nation except Azerbaijan, Brazil and Turkey, and significantly more than the 1,033 delegates from the ten most vulnerable countries to climate change.
According to The Guardian, former US Vice President Al Gore has also criticized the influence of the fossil fuel industry and called for reforms in the selection of host countries. The central theme of the negotiations is to provide 1 trillion dollars a year by 2030 for poorer countries to deal with climate challenges, but disputes between developed countries and China as an emerging economy are slowing progress.
Campaigners are demanding that polluters pay, while a report suggests innovative funding options such as taxes on cryptocurrencies, plastics, aviation or a 2% wealth tax to bridge funding gaps. Negotiations will continue next week.
A few days ago, we wrote about how a high-ranking COP29 official in Azerbaijan, allegedly leading the fight against climate change, tried to organize meetings with the country’s oil and gas investors.
Energy production accounts for 60% of Azerbaijan’s economy. Elnur Soltanov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan and the head of COP29, spoke on secretly recorded recordings about the investment opportunities of the state-owned SOCAR, claims the PJ Media.
“SOCAR Trading trades oil and gas around the world, including Asia. To me, these are options worth looking into. But in any case, this needs to be discussed with SOCAR, and I would be happy to establish a relationship between you and them” he said in the recordings.
He added: “We have a number of gas fields that still need to be developed.”
PJ Media reports that Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has expressed interest in being approached by a fake investor group, according to Global Witness.
At the meeting, the leader of COP29 and the Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, Elnur Soltanov, explained that the goal of the COP is to “solving the climate crisis” a “by reducing the use of hydrocarbons”.
Still, he expressed openness to oil and gas investment, citing Azerbaijan’s gas expansion plans and new pipeline infrastructure. This is the second year that a fossil fuel-producing country has used its COP presidency to promote its fossil interests, raising serious questions about the UN’s oversight system.
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