A coalition of climate change activists on Friday released a letter to the United Nations calling for a “fundamental review” of the Conference of the Parties (COP) environment conference, saying the Conference of the Parties (COP) is not allowing exchanges of fossil fuel interests. It became a venue to protest against the continued pollution of various countries. No results.
The letter was published by the Club of Rome advocacy group and arrived during the first week of COP29, the 29th of the United Nations' official climate change alert summits. This year's event is hosted by the government of Azerbaijan, one of the world's most prolific natural gas producers. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in a speech at the summit, declared fossil fuels a “gift from God” and defended their continued use, infuriating environmentalists.
Thousands of lobbyists representing fossil fuel companies are reportedly attending COP29, outnumbering the delegations of many invited countries, but the summit is expected to do something about the alleged climate crisis. Few expect it to produce concrete action. The event follows COP28 in 2023, hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and hosted by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber.
left-wing nonprofit organization global witness The party lamented on Friday that the COP event had been “exploited” by the bad actors it was supposed to contain.
Dominique Kavakeb, co-director of campaigns at Global Witness, said: “COP climate talks are essential to combating the climate crisis. It should be a forum for cooperation to reach an agreement.” said In a statement. “This is precisely why they cannot continue to be co-opted by the fossil fuel industry, whether through sponsorship, connections to the COP organizing team, or the presence of lobbyists at talks.”
Kavaqev was responding to the Club of Rome's letter, which, using less combative language, subtly criticized Azerbaijan as the host country and called for an end to the COP event in its current format. Ta.
COP, signatory of the Club of Rome letter “In its current form, it is simply incapable of bringing about change at the exponential speed and scale that is essential to ensuring a safe climate landing for humanity,” they wrote. “This is what drives our call for a fundamental overhaul of the COP.”
The letter puts the urgency of choosing a better host country at the top of the list and sets out a series of reforms that environmentalist leaders hope will make the UN event more proactive in combating the climate crisis. It provides an overview. The letter did not name Azerbaijan or the UAE, but suggested that “strict eligibility criteria are needed to exclude countries that do not support phasing out/transitioning away from fossil energy.” Host countries must demonstrate high levels of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement. ”
The Paris Agreement is a global agreement organized by the United Nations to address greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would require the United States to make strict cuts in fossil fuel use, while allowing non-Western countries such as China and India, the world's worst polluters, to increase their emissions over the next 10 years. are. The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, but returned to it under outgoing President Joe Biden.
The letter signatories also complained about the large number of lobbyists present at COP meetings in recent years.
“Despite the COP’s new disclosure rules on climate change, a record number of 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access at COP28, nearly four times as many as at COP27,” the letter said. There is. “The fact that there were far more fossil fuel lobbyists than official representatives of scientific institutions, indigenous communities, and vulnerable countries reflects a systemic imbalance in COP representation.”
The environmental protection organization Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) documented Nearly 1,800 fossil fuel lobbyists attended COP29. Lobbyists are among the more than 50,000 people who fly to Baku for the event, creating a horrendous carbon footprint.
“As with last year's COP28 climate change negotiations in Dubai, far more fossil lobbyists were allowed to participate in COP29 than delegates from nearly every country,” Global Witness reported in KBPO. This was announced on Friday, citing. This number is exceeded by host country Azerbaijan (2,229 people), COP30 host Brazil (1,914 people), and Turkiye. [Turkey] (1,862)”.
Beira Triasdian, head of the environmental group Trend Asia Big Polluters, lamented that “we are constantly being dominated by the fossil fuel industry, which is destroying people's homes and livelihoods.” “The COP has been convened for the 29th time, and climate change continues to worsen while fossil fuel lobbyists evade responsibility and prolong the fossil fuel era with false solutions.”
Despite widespread complaints against lobbyists, environmentalists are aggressively seeking global “climate finance” to seize power in Afghanistan in 2021. It has remained silent on the jihadist organization Taliban's first appearance at COP29.
Rather than an annual summit, the signatories of the Club of Rome letter called the COP “a smaller, more frequent platform where countries report on progress, take responsibility in line with the latest science, and discuss important solutions.” He proposed splitting the meeting into “solution-driven meetings.” For finance, technology and stocks. ”
They also called for stronger “mechanisms to hold countries accountable to their climate change targets and commitments,” including “strengthened reporting and benchmarking, rigorous peer-review processes, and independent scientific oversight.” and “transparent tracking of commitments and actions.”
The Club of Rome is a non-profit organization with a decades-old history. advocated Opposing economic development because it conflicts with the goals of environmentalism. The organization describes itself as a “diverse group of thought leaders who identify holistic solutions to complex global problems and advance policy initiatives and actions to help humanity emerge from multiple global emergencies.” It is described as a “leader's platform”.
Signatories include several people not directly associated with the Club of Rome, the most prominent being former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Reuters I lamented On Friday, it announced that the first day of COP29 was a chaotic day with “delegates struggling for hours on the first day to agree on an agenda.” The election of Donald Trump to a second term in the US government also “soured” the meeting, the news agency said.
Azerbaijan's President Aliyev also alarmed environmentalists in a speech on Tuesday.
“Oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver and copper are all natural resources, and countries should not be blamed for having them, nor should they be blamed for putting these resources on the market. “Because the market needs them,'' he declared. “Please quote what I said, this is a gift from God, and I would like to repeat that to this audience today.”
