The host country for the UN climate summit, Azerbaijan, praises itself for new climate-friendly energy – but continues to invest heavily in fossil extraction and tolerates no criticism.
– It is not our fault that we have oil, it is a gift from God, and it will be needed for many years, President Ilham Aliyev said before COP29.
90 percent of Azerbaijan’s export earnings come from the extraction of oil and gas, and the climate-damaging fossil extraction makes up as much as 60 percent of the country’s total income.
Although the president has now promised more green investments in solar and wind power, he also promises to greatly expand the production of gas in the next few years, mainly to countries in Europe.
“This is greenwashing”
Azerbaijan is also among the few countries that have weakened their climate goals, according to Climate Action Tracker’s review ahead of COP29.
– This is clearly greenwashing, says journalist Rasmus Canbäck, who has examined corruption and the lack of human rights. He has been blacklisted by the authoritarian regime.
Azerbaijan is one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes, where the Aliyev family has ruled the country for over 30 years. Anyone who criticizes the regime often has to pay a high price.
– One would think that a climate summit like this would slow down the persecution of dissenters, but the opposite has happened. Since the appointment of the host country for COP29, at least 30 political prisoners have been arrested in the country, says Rasmus Canbäck.
Oil industry critics are jailed
Human rights lawyer Zhala Bayramova lives in Sweden, but at home in Azerbaijan, father Gubad Ibadoghlu has been imprisoned for over a year as a result of his criticism of the oil and gas industry. His health has deteriorated during the year and efforts are underway to get him released.
– We can’t stop now because my father is in danger of dying. The only thing that can make him survive is international pressure for a release.