Azerbaijan set to host climate conference in 2024

The country’s designation must still be ratified by all the states present at COP28, which ends Tuesday in Dubai.

Azerbaijan should host COP29 in 2024, announced Saturday, December 9, Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology, Mukhtar Babayev, during a speech at COP28 in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The United Nations Climate Conference would thus be chaired by a country heavily dependent on oil, whose consumption is responsible for global warming, for the second year in a row.

“I am pleased to announce that there is a general consensus around Azerbaijan’s candidacy to host COP29”declared the minister, while the designation of his country must still be ratified by all the States present at COP28, which ends on Tuesday. “We are very grateful for the support of all countries, especially those in the Eastern European Group and the host, the United Arab Emirates. We are committed to working inclusively and collaboratively with all, so that COP29 is a success”he added.

Armenia withdraws its candidacy

Blocked for months, the designation of the country to chair the 29th UN Conference on Climate Change was in the process of being resolved since the announcement of Armenia’s support for Azerbaijan. The two Caucasus countries, whose last war dates back to 2020 and which still regularly oppose each other in armed incidents at the border, made a joint statement in which they announced, among other things, that Armenia was withdrawing its candidacy for membership. organization of COP29 and supported that of Azerbaijan. Their two applications neutralized each other and blocked the process.

>> COP28: in Dubai, the massive and unprecedented presence of fossil fuel lobbyists

The climate COPs are organized each year in a different bloc of countries: the United Arab Emirates was designated by Asia for 2023, while Eastern Europe is to host the conference in 2024. Member countries were to agree, according to UN procedure. Russia opposed the choice of Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, which announced on Friday that it was withdrawing its candidacy “in a spirit of good will”.