By: Leonor Cruz, Dr Suzanne Maas (Friends of the Earth Malta)
“The supposed ‘COP of climate finance’ has turned into the ‘COP of false solutions. The terrible deal on finance destroys the notion of historical responsibility of the rich big polluting countries and pushes private debt creating finance. Global North countries are no longer obligated to provide finance to the Global South as enshrined in the Paris Agreement. COP29 also put a final nail in the coffin, opening the door to the global carbon market and the disastrous impacts for communities and ecosystems. We have seen the impacts of these schemes: land grabs, Indigenous Peoples rights and human rights violations and more.”
Kirtana Chandrasekaran – Food Sovereignty program coordinator for Friends of the Earth International
Sunday, November 24, 2024, marked the conclusion of the COP29, the yearly global climate summit of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), this year hosted by Azerbaijan. Over the past two weeks we witnessed the world come together to discuss the future of our planet in Baku, Azerbaijan. The yearly Conference of the Parties (COP) is a crucial international platform for world leaders, activists, scientists and policymakers to negotiate actions to combat climate change, reduce global emissions and promote sustainable development.
Unfortunately, the outcomes of this year’s COP left much to be desired. The negotiations were inefficient, leading to disappointing results that reflect the failure of 21st century multilateralism. The lack of meaningful progress highlights the pressing need for global reflection: where are we failing?
One of the most crucial factors that influence the success of COP is the host country. The host sets the tone of the negotiations. This year, success seemed possible only through a miracle. It is not the first time that an authoritarian petro-state, with no respect for human rights, is hosting COP.
Ethnic cleansing of Armenian population
Azerbaijan is guilty of conducting ethnic cleansing, humanitarian blockades, war crimes, and repressing its civil society and population. Freedom House ranks Azerbaijan as the least democratic state in Europe, with a regime that actively targets journalists, independent media, politics and civil society. How did an undemocratic state become the host of COP29?
It was the turn of East Europe to host COP and Russia vetoed every other EU country. Therefore Armenia lifted their previous veto against Azerbaijan in exchange for Armenian prisoners. However, a large number of Armenian political prisoners are still being held in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan has an extensive record of human rights abuse, which have intensified with the recent ethnically-cleansed Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, conducted by the authoritarian regime of Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s President, who celebrated the forced displacement of Armenian communities with a traditional spring equinox bonfire, calling it a “final cleaning”.
Lack of female representation
Initially Azerbaijan had appointed 28 men and no women to a key group tasked with organising the climate summit in the country, of which some members were linked to the country’s oil and gas industry. After strong media backlash the country added 12 women and two men to the committee. However, the gender gap was there, and the quick fix was not enough. By ignoring gender dynamics, the committee’s decisions only reflect the male perspective, overlooking how climate change will impact women and girls for generations to come. It is proven that climate change has a disproportionate impact on women, particularly pregnant women and young girls, which is being completely ignored. COP29 represents a step back for gender-responsive climate actions and decision-making.
Little room for civil society participation
The presence, participation and protection of civil society is essential in global climate talks for progress on climate change. Civil society is not present at such conferences to corroborate state agendas, their goal is to advocate for human rights, climate sustainability and to expose violations, abuses and corruption of institutions and states. COP should never be allowed to be hosted by a country that has political prisoners – journalists, environmental activists and political opponents – according to The Union “For Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan”, more than 300 prisoners are being held by Azerbaijan.
“Unless the Azerbaijani authorities drastically change their repressive approach, civil society organizations, independent media and activists will not be able to freely express their critical views or participate in a meaningful and effective manner at COP29. This would seriously undermine the process and taint the outcome of the conference. To achieve a truly effective impact, it must be a forum for the free exchange of views and ideas – not just those of state delegates but also the independent civic actors who are the driving force for climate justice and human rights, both locally and internationally,” said Agnès Callamard – Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Furthermore, activists and civil society’s freedom of speech is progressively being more restricted. Activists feel that they can only protest within certain areas though the venue, when in previous years activists have organized mass street marches in host cities. According to the UNFCCC’s code of conduct, activists can’t name specific countries, people or businesses. However, the work of civil society and the groups forming Friends of the Earth International continues:
“COP29 has also been characterised by the strengthening of the articulation of movements from around the world to secure real climate action rooted in justice. We’re on the road now to COP30, developing a critical, transformative and emancipatory long term environmental agenda. Local groups in Brazil are already organising, peoples and communities are building and we’ll be there together, louder and stronger to demand climate justice.” commented Linda González – Anthropologist, Censat Agua Viva / Friends of the Earth Colombia.
Conclusion
COP29 is a crucial and decisive conference that is important for progress on global climate action. Only through a unified global effort can humanity fight climate change and reach the Paris Agreement goals. However, COP29 proved the necessity of the host being a democratic country with a clear commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels and upholding human rights. Otherwise, future COPs will continue to produce underwhelming outcomes, ignoring gender perspectives, minorities and civil society participation.
The political context of the host is crucial for the outcomes of COP. Therefore, the only platform where the world can discuss and negotiate climate actions, can not be hosted in petro-states, with no intention to move away from fossil fuel industries and with no respect by human rights, international law and democracy.
As we leave COP29 behind us, we can not forget about those facing repression, violence and detention for standing up for justice and environmental rights. Urgently, the United Nations and the international society should take immediate action to secure their release.
Sources:
BBC: “COP29 hosts accused of detaining climate defenders” – https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq52l95dd3vo
Human Rights Watch: “ A rally against the authorities’ targeting of government critics on May 14, 2022, outside the Interior Ministry in Baku” – https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/azerbaijan
UN Women: “COP29 decisions deliver gains for gender equality in climate action, but more remains to be done” – https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/news/2024/11/cop29-decisions-deliver-gains-for-gender-equality-in-climate-action-but-more-remains-to-be-done
The Guardian: “A ‘Cop of peace’? How can authoritarian, human rights-trashing Azerbaijan possibly host that?” – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/11/greta-thunberg-cop29-authoritarian-human-rights-azerbaijan-greenwashing
TIME: “ Azerbaijan Should Never Have Been COP Host” – https://time.com/7177165/azerbaijan-climate-human-rights-cop29/
Council on Foreign Relations: “Ethnic Cleansing Is Happening in Nagorno-Karabakh. How Can the World Respond?”- https://www.cfr.org/article/ethnic-cleansing-happening-nagorno-karabakh-how-can-world-respond
The Guardian: “Azerbaijan appoints no women to 28-member Cop29 climate committee”-https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/15/cop29-climate-summit-committee-appointed-with-28-men-and-no-women-azerbaijan
Euro News: “A constant battle on what we can say’: Activists say they feel stifled by COP29rules” – https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/11/16/a-constant-battle-on-what-we-can-say-activists-say-they-feel-stifled-by-cop29-rules
Amnesty International: “COP29: States must press Azerbaijani authorities to end assault on civil society” – https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/10/cop29-azerbaijan-end-assault-on-civil-society/
Freedom House: Azerbaijan Profile – https://freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan
President of the Republic of AzerbaijanIlham Aliyev: “Ilham Aliyev lit Novruz bonfire in the city of Khankendi” – https://president.az/en/articles/view/65376
Friends of the Earth International: “COP29 closing: Pennies for climate finance, billions in false solutions, complicity in genocide” – https://www.foei.org/cop29-foei-closing-press-release/