Authoritarian Petrostate Heads COP29: Climate Summit or Greenwashing Spectacle?
As the year draws to a close, the world's attention turns toward Baku, Azerbaijan, for the United Nations Climate Conference of the Parties (COP), where world leaders gather to mould the future of climate policy.
COP28 / Mahmoud Khaled
This year’s COP29 climate summit has been mired in controversy for a multitude of reasons, including geopolitical dynamics that led to Azerbaijan being chosen as host. Traditionally, COP host nations have had years to prepare for the summit and a track record of leadership in climate diplomacy. However, Azerbaijan had less than a year to assemble after geopolitical tension in the region derailed the usual selection process. Russia vetoed Eastern European COP29 host candidates including Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Moldova, due to EU sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving Azerbaijan as a sort of compromise. This decision seems to reflect more on global power plays than the climate priorities the summit is supposed to address.
Last year’s COP28, held in the United Arab Emirates—a nation whose economy heavily relies on oil and gas—was criticized for its paradoxical choice of venue. This year, COP29 faces an even steeper climb to maintain its credibility. Azerbaijan’s role as host underscores the contradictions at the heart of climate diplomacy.
Azerbaijan is a petrostate with an economy more entrenched in fossil fuels than most. Oil and gas make up 92.5% of Azerbaijan’s export revenue, and the country has a long-standing relationship with hydrocarbons, dating back to the 1840s when the world’s first oil wells were drilled on its soil. The nation’s president, Ilham Aliyev, openly celebrated Azerbaijan’s oil reserves in his COP29 keynote address, calling them a “gift from God”; rhetoric that indicates no intention of letting fossil fuels lie. This backdrop makes the selection of Azerbaijan as COP29’s host a contentious decision, especially with Mukhtar Babayev, a former executive at the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), presiding over the summit as the country’s ecology and natural resources minister.
Criticism extends beyond Azerbaijan’s economic reliance on oil. Azerbaijan operates as an authoritarian regime under President Aliyev, who has held power since succeeding his father in 2003. Freedom House, a Washington, D.C.–based watchdog, recently downgraded Azerbaijan’s already dismal “freedom score” to 7 out of 100—citing corruption and persecution of political opposition. The Aliyev government has maintained its grip on power through widespread suppression of dissent, restrictions on press freedom, and curtailment of civil liberties.
Moreover, a recent Global Witness report revealed that Azerbaijani leaders aimed to leverage their COP leadership to advance fossil fuel negotiations. The NGO's undercover investigation captured COP CEO Elnur Soltanov on a hidden camera discussing oil and gas deals in the lead-up to the summit. These gestures are beyond out of line, and violate the UN’s code of ethics for COP officials, which prohibits using their roles “to seek private gain” and mandates they act “without self-interest.”
The contradictions don’t end there. Aliyev’s administration has been implicated in ethnic cleansing against Armenians in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Over the past three years, military campaigns have displaced over 130,000 ethnic Armenians, with the European Parliament explicitly condemning these actions as ethnic cleansing. Shockingly, Aliyev has announced plans to transform the now- ‘empty’ region into a “green energy zone,” raising ethical concerns about the exploitation of human suffering for economic and environmental propaganda.
COP29 arrives at a critical juncture. The world is running out of time to address the escalating climate crisis, and any misstep risks further eroding trust in global climate governance. Azerbaijan acting as host raises pressing questions about the priorities and principles driving these conferences. Can a petrostate entrenched in authoritarian rule and fossil fuel interests genuinely lead the charge toward a sustainable, equitable future? Or does this summit represent yet another exercise in greenwashing, where the optics of action obscure the grim reality of inaction?
For the remainder of the two-week summit, negotiations will focus on mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars in climate finance, a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement’s goals. Development banks, including the World Bank, announced a collective target of $120 billion in funding for low- and middle-income countries by 2030, a significant increase from 2023 levels. However, this pledge comes amid growing calls for wealthy nations to fulfill their existing financial commitments to the Global South.
As the world watches, COP29 must prove it is more than a stage for empty promises. Genuine leadership requires not just ambition but also accountability and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths—even when they challenge the interests of powerful hosts. Without a clear commitment to tangible progress, the conference risks becoming a symbol of hypocrisy in the fight against climate change. For the millions of people on the vulnerable frontlines of this crisis, there is no time to waste on performative gestures. The stakes demand nothing less than urgent, transformative action.
Cordelia (she/her) is a fourth-year Political Studies student and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Political Digest.
