The host of the UN climate summit in Azerbaijan on Tuesday defended fossil fuels and the right of countries to exploit them as dozens of world leaders arrived for the COP29 conference. [emphasis, links added]
More than 75 leaders are expected but the heads of top polluting nations are skipping the crunch climate talks, where the impact of Donald Trump’s election victory is being digested.
Just a handful of leaders from rich G20 nations — which account for nearly 80 percent of the world’s planet-heating emissions — are expected over two days in Baku.
In the host’s opening address, President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan had been subject to “slander and blackmail” for its use of fossil fuels and that no country should be judged for its natural resources.
“Quote me that I said that this is a gift of God, and I want to repeat it today here at this audience,” Aliyev told delegates.
“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.”
Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron, and Olaf Scholz are among the G20 leaders missing the event, where uncertainty over future US climate action overshadowed the opening day.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, one of the higher-profile leaders attending, will unveil an “ambitious” update to the UK’s climate goals later today. He said he wanted his country “to show leadership on the climate challenge.”
Washington’s top climate envoy, John Podesta, is seeking to reassure countries in Baku that Trump’s re-election will not end US efforts on global warming, even if the issue will be “on the back burner.”
– ‘Tough COP’ –
The top priority at COP29 is landing a hard-fought deal to boost funding for climate action in developing countries.
These nations—from low-lying islands to fractured states at war—are least responsible for climate change but most at risk from rising seas, extreme weather, and economic shocks.
Read more at Yahoo! News
