Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev used his speech at COP29 to criticize the West for its ongoing pressure on the country's oil and gas sector, saying the industry had been the target of a "well-orchestrated campaign of slander and blackmail."
Aliyev’s remarks came on the second day of the climate summit, where nearly 200 countries are meeting to discuss ways to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Moments later, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made a strong statement. He stressed that continuing to rely on fossil fuels is an “absurd strategy.” According to him, it runs counter to urgent global climate needs.
These conflicting views highlight a central challenge facing climate negotiations. Many Western countries are still dependent on fossil fuels. At the same time, they are trying to pressure producers to transition to cleaner energy sources.
Economic Dependence and Transition Actions in Azerbaijan
In 2023, the oil and gas sector accounted for 35% of Azerbaijan’s economy, down from 50% two years earlier. The government forecasts that this share will fall to 22% by 2028, reflecting a gradual attempt at economic diversification.
“As president of COP29, we advocated the green transition and are implementing it, but we need to be realistic,” said Aliyev, who called Azerbaijan’s oil and gas resources “a gift from God.”
Aliyev also mentioned that countries should not be blamed for using and trading these resources, because “the market needs them. People need them.”
In his criticism, Aliyev singled out the United States and the European Union specifically, accusing them of “double standards” and “political hypocrisy” in dealing with energy issues. He said Western NGOs and media outlets have acted in a biased and controlled manner, increasing pressure on other countries.
The US is currently the world’s largest oil and gas producer. On the other hand, European countries have set some of the most stringent targets to reduce emissions by 2030. However, both the US and these countries are still seeking to secure energy supplies. This need has intensified following the crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
U.S. national climate adviser Ali Zaidi responded that if all countries decarbonized at the pace of the United States, the world would meet its climate goals. The European Union declined to comment on Aliyev’s criticism.
Guterres warns of limited time for climate action
Following the speech of the President of Azerbaijan, Guterres, in turn, made a clear warning about the limited time to avoid a catastrophic increase in global temperatures. Thus, he emphatically called on world leaders to increase climate finance to prevent humanitarian disasters.
“When it comes to climate finance, the world needs to pay, or else humanity will pay the price,” Guterres stressed. “We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, and time is therefore not on our side.”
This year’s COP29 is therefore focused on mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars to finance a global transition towards cleaner energy sources, while also limiting the climate damage caused by carbon emissions.
Source: William James and Kate Abnett | Notícias Agrícolas
