Since Azerbaijan was announced as the host of COP29 last year, the country has been sharply criticised based on false and biased views. So-called “activists” criticise Azerbaijan for being a natural resource-rich country and for not having an effective climate agenda. To demonstrate its commitment to strengthening efforts to combat climate change, 2024 was declared the “Green World Solidarity Year”. How fair are the critics of Azerbaijan?

By Shahmar Hajiyev
With less than one month until the next UN climate conference, COP29, which will be held in Baku from 11 to 22 November, Azerbaijan is finalising the agenda. Hosting such a prestigious international conference for the first time in the region is a great responsibility, and COP29 initiatives demonstrate Azerbaijan’s focus on critical issues to tackle climate change and promote finance and investments effectively.

In mid-October (10-11), Azerbaijan hosted a pre-COP event in Baku, an important platform for starting negotiations ahead of COP29. Pre-COP29 discussions mainly focused on key priorities, including climate finance, especially NCQG, mitigation, adaptation, and the inclusion of vulnerable communities in global climate solutions through the Loss and Damage Response Fund.

In addition, the COP28, COP29, and COP30 presidencies co-hosted a side event titled "TROIKA Roadmap to Mission 1.5: Enhancing International Cooperation” as part of the pre-COP29. It should be noted that the pre-COP was the latest milestone in Azerbaijan’s preparations for COP29, which will be a crucial moment in the global effort to limit global warming to 1.5°C and build resilience to climate impacts.

The purpose of the meeting was also to provide a selected group of countries with an informal setting to discuss and exchange views on some key aspects to serve as a base of political recommendations for future negotiations. According to EU Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra, “There is a lot of work to be done ahead of COP29. Not only do we need to build confidence in the consensus reached at COP28 in Dubai, but we also need to make it more concrete. Pre-Cop has been a good start for the negotiations”.

Talking about COP29, it is worth noting that the COP29 Presidency has already announced the COP29 Presidency Initiatives as part of its “Action Agenda” to accelerate progress on climate action and supplement the formal negotiated COP agenda. The Action Agenda represents an ambitious effort by the COP29 Presidency to drive action across all climate pillars and covers a range of critical priorities, such as energy, finance, agriculture, cities, human development, and the climate-peace nexus. 

Many of these initiatives, particularly the Baku Initiative on Climate Finance, Investment and Trade (BICFIT), the Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience, and the Multisectoral Actions Pathways (MAP) for Resilient and Healthy Cities, integrate and address cross-sectoral synergies.

COP29 initiative on Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF) aims to capitalise on voluntary contributions from fossil fuel-producing countries and companies to catalyse the public and private sectors across mitigation, adaptation, and research and development. This Fund will also have special facilities for highly concessional and grant-based funding to rapidly address the consequences of natural disasters in developing countries in need.

It is becoming clear that a new global climate finance goal will be a key topic on the agenda during COP29 in Baku. Baku COP29 could be characterised as the “finance COP” because it is time for countries to set a new global climate finance goal. For the first time in 15 years, countries must agree to a new international finance goal known as the new collective quantified climate finance goal (NCQG).

Climate change rapidly alters the global security landscape; its security implications are highly diverse and pose many complex challenges. Climate change is also shifting the dynamics of peacebuilding.

The former Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has resulted in enormous suffering for people. Azerbaijan faced severe economic, security, and environmental challenges. During the post-conflict period, one of the serious environmental challenges in the Karabakh region is soil and land contamination. Landmine contamination prevents access to agricultural lands and the return of IDPs to their permanent places of residence.

COP29 in Baku also aims to support global peace and security. The objective of the COP Truce Appeal, which is an appeal for a COP Truce modelled on the Olympic Truce, is to highlight the importance of peace and climate action.

Moreover, the COP29 Peace and Climate Initiative is a separate initiative, co-led with partners, that envisages delivering tangible outcomes such as establishing a centre of excellence hub to match the needs of the most vulnerable with existing resources and foster further action for the operationalisation of various initiatives on the peace and climate nexus. These initiatives aim to support international conflict prevention and inclusive peacebuilding.

The COP29 Presidency will hold “the Peace, Relief, and Recovery Day” on November 15. This will be the second “Peace, Relief and Recovery Day” following the inaugural day held at COP28 in Dubai. During this day, the parties will discuss policy, finance, and field practices to tackle the ongoing challenges for highly climate-vulnerable countries facing conflict and humanitarian situations to access financial resources and implement adaptation measures.

Regarding COP29 in Baku, it is also essential to analyse Azerbaijan’s approach to tackling climate change and how the country seeks to promote the energy transition. In this context, Azerbaijan has already proven itself a reliable energy partner and contributes to Europe's energy security.

It is also time to increase cooperation in green energy and energy efficiency. To this end, the new Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy signed between Azerbaijan and the European Union aims to enhance cooperation in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Towards this end, Azerbaijan started the green transition. The country aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by up to 35% by 2030 and 40% by 2050, declaring the liberated territories a “net zero emission” zone. Renewable energy sources are expected to make up 30% of Azerbaijan’s electricity generation by 2030.

The country signed several important green energy agreements with Masdar, ADNOC, ACWA Power, TEPSCO, Bp, and China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment to implement various renewable energy projects. For example, in 2024, Masdar signed three investment agreements for two solar projects and one onshore wind project with a combined capacity of 1GW following the inauguration of Garadagh Solar Park, the largest in the region. Projects are part of Masdar’s 10GW projects supporting Azerbaijan’s ambitions to generate 30% of its energy capacity from renewable power by 2030.

Overall, transforming the country into a “green energy hub” is a key component of Azerbaijan’s energy policy, and COP29 in Baku will foster a green transition and renewable energy sources. The Black Sea submarine cable project, which will connect the electric power systems of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and later Central Asia with Europe, also supports a green transition on the regional level and European green initiatives.

Shahmar Hajiyev is a senior specialist at the Center for Analysis of International Relations. His research includes energy politics, transport and energy security issues, renewables and green economy. This is his first contribution to The Liberum.