2024-09-06
The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) will convene in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Australia Greens do not support the decision of the United Nations to host this event in Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijan government has a long history of human rights abuses against its own citizens and provocations and violations on the world stage. This includes the violent crackdown on environmental protests and the illegal annexation of the Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023.
Azerbaijan’s economy is highly dependent on the export of oil and gas. Not only are these exports contributing to the climate crisis, they are also empowering and enriching the corrupt regime of President Aliyev.
It is concerning that so far the organisers have refused to release details of the Host Country Agreement, this means it is unclear what steps, if any, Azerbaijan is taking to protect human rights during the conference.
The Australian Greens believe the United Nation’s organisers should have selected a different host country for COP29 - it’s unacceptable that this conference is happening in a country that commits human rights abuses, and profits off the climate crisis. The UN must publicly release the details of the Host Country Agreement.