•World leaders begin plenary speeches today
Azerbaijan’s president, whose country is hosting the COP29 climate talks, on Tuesday repeated his insistence that oil, gas and other natural resources are a “gift of the God.”
In a robust defence of his country against what he termed “fake news” and a “well-coordinated campaign of slander and blackmail,” Ilham Aliyev said nations should not be judged by their natural resources and how they use them.
“Quote me that I said that this is a gift of the God, and I want to repeat it today here at this audience,” he told delegates at the climate conference in Baku.
“Oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all… are natural resources and countries should not be blamed for having them and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market, because the market needs them.”
“People need them.”
Azerbaijan has seven billion barrels of proven oil reserves and was one of the first places in the world to start commercial oil production.
Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan has produced 1.05 billion tonnes of oil and is set to increase its natural gas production by more than a third in the next decade.
Revenues from oil and gas production make up about 35 percent of the country’s GDP and nearly half of the state budget.
About 75 percent of Azerbaijan’s energy exports go to European markets.
In 2022, the European Commission signed a deal with Baku to double gas imports from the country, keen to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas — an agreement Aliyev defended in his speech.
“It was not our idea,” he said.
“They asked us to help, and we said okay, we will help Europe with energy security.”
World leaders begin plenary speeches
Meanwhile, dozens of world leaders are set to give speeches at the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan on Tuesday, setting the tone for the two-week negotiations.
Among others, UN Secretary General António Guterres is expected to speak.
Representatives from almost 200 states are attending the summit, known as COP29, in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, which got under way on Monday.
They are to discuss how to contain the climate crisis and mitigate its consequences, which include more frequent and severe flooding, cyclones, forest fires, heatwaves and droughts.
The summit also aims to address new financial commitments to poor countries that are particularly affected by climate change.
Some international leaders have decided to miss the conference, including French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, whose country is to take over the COP presidency in 2025.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meanwhile cancelled his trip to Baku due to the collapse of his governing coalition last week.
