The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) will be held in Baku. Experts fear that the country is not up to the big task.
After Dubai, next year it will be Baku’s turn to host the UN climate conference – so, like this year, COP29 will be held in a country that lives on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. Observers doubt Azerbaijan’s ability to face the challenges.
In 2024, it’s about the money
At the conference that just concluded in Dubai, the political signal was sent that countries must work to develop away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
Next year in Baku, it will be about money: the states will then have to decide how much money should flow from rich to poor countries for climate protection and adaptation to climate change.
There is still a lot of trust work to be measured.
The negotiations will revolve around who will pay the amount of money to developing countries, how the amounts will be paid, and who controls the implementation of the projects. Almost everything is still unclear, says Axel Mikaelwa.
“There is still a lot of work to be done at the level of trust,” says an expert on international climate policy at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Zurich.
For Baku, the climate is not really a problem
This is not an easy task for the hosts of COP29 in Baku. Michaelawa fears the task will be too difficult. He does not primarily blame the fact that Azerbaijan is highly dependent on oil and gas.
But: “I have never heard a substantive statement from Azerbaijan in the 26 climate conferences I have attended so far.”
Logistically, the country will certainly organize the conference well, Mikaelawa believes. But in order to reach an outcome for the negotiations, Azerbaijan will need “tremendous support.”
We expect to achieve good results in Baku
The country relies heavily on Russia and Turkey, and these countries have never emerged as positive players in previous climate negotiations.
Byrne waits and acts calm
Meanwhile, official Switzerland is adopting a diplomatic stance: “We expect good results,” says the head of the Swiss delegation, Felix Fertli. This is the only way Azerbaijan will be measured as host of the conference.
The success of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku in December 2024 will depend at least in part on Switzerland: the Federal Council is convinced that Switzerland is doing its fair share of financing climate protection and adaptation in the Global South.
But NGOs and different countries see it differently.
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