Today, on November 11, the 29th conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP29, started in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The COP is held every year and includes representatives from different countries. The aim of the latter is to bring together world leaders, scientists, politicians and non-governmental organizations to develop and implement common strategies for mitigating climate change, controlling its effects. For the implementation of such projects, large financial deals are concluded, which, by and large, are the stimulus that interests the states to host this largest international conference.
The decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was made in December of last year, three months after the large-scale attack by Azerbaijan on the Republic of Artsakh and the total depopulation of Artsakh. The RA authorities also expressed their support for this decision, instead demanding the return of 32 Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.
It should be noted that Azerbaijan has also sent an invitation to Armenia to participate. from the beginning, the Armenian authorities did not consider it correct to participate in COP29 in connection with the 23 Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, 8 of whom are members of the military-political leadership of Artsakh captured in September 2023. Let's remind that Azerbaijan has brought serious charges against the former officials of Artsakh: terrorism, forming illegal armed groups and other criminal articles. However, RA MFA Ararat Mirzoyan stated that he is ready to go to Baku if Azerbaijan returns the Armenian prisoners.
Currently, this UN Convention has 198 parties: 197 countries and the EU. however, based on the above and other reasons, not all of these countries agreed to go to Baku to participate in the conference, essentially boycotting it, and some of them confirmed their participation under the leadership of the second or third person of the state.
And so, French Environment Minister Christophe Bechu will go to Baku instead of French President Emmanuel Macron, due to France's pro-Armenian position on the Artsakh conflict and French-Azerbaijani tense relations in that context. It should be noted that around three dozen figures representing different political circles of France issued a joint message condemning France's participation in the COP29 climate conference in Baku and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan.
The Chinese delegation will not be headed by the country's first, nor second or third person. China will be represented at COP29 by Xie Zhenhua, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, who is experienced in climate negotiations. This will allow avoiding tensions in diplomatic contacts, especially with Azerbaijan. At the moment, the Chinese political agenda is mainly focused on bilateral negotiations, so it is more appropriate to send a figure directly related to the sector to the conference.
Japan also did not send the head of government, instead including high-level representatives of climate policy institutions, including members of the Japan Climate Initiative, in the delegation.
A high-level delegation will not go to Baku from Germany, instead, the country will be represented by the Deputy Foreign Minister Jennifer Morgan, who participated in the preparatory discussions of the event with Azerbaijani officials on climate change negotiations. This approach is in line with Germany's current strategy of involving diplomatic and ministerial representatives in such events instead of the head of state or senior government officials.
Great Britain will also participate at the ministerial level. The country will be represented by the Minister of Climate Affairs and the Secretary of Energy Security and Net Zero, as well as other ministers. Their participation will symbolize the UK's continued efforts in the fight against climate change.
The United States will participate in COP29, but the US delegation will not include the newly elected President Donald Trump due to the post-election situation in the country, expected personnel changes, etc. The official US representation will be at the ministerial level, US Energy Minister Jennifer Graham will lead the delegation.
The participation of Russia and Ukraine in COP29 is currently uncertain. A month ago, Ukraine called on countries to boycott the conference if Russian President Vladimir Putin attended, citing war crimes charges brought against Putin by the ICC and saying it could seriously jeopardize the event's reputation. The ambassador of the European Union of Ukraine warned that the Western countries should inform Azerbaijan that they will not participate if Putin is there.
And here a number of countries have decided to boycott and not participate in COP29. Papua New Guinea took the most active position, announcing that the country has decided to withdraw from the UN climate summit due to "empty promises and inaction". Prime Minister James Marape announced in August that the country would not attend COP29 in "protest against major nations" for a lack of "rapid support for victims of climate change". Then last week, Foreign Minister Justin Tkkatchenko confirmed that Papua New Guinea would pull out of the high-level talks at a summit starting on November 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan, calling it a "complete waste of time".
Global eco-activist Greta Thunberg also made key statements in the context of this topic. He stated that he will definitely not go to Baku.
Allowing the oil regime to hold a climate conference, according to the eco-activist, is "hypocrisy" towards the people of Azerbaijan, Armenians, and the climate. "It is absurd that the authoritarian regime uses me as an excuse to justify its violations of human rights, taking (Armenian) prisoners of war, dissidents as hostages, and then expresses solidarity with me for being detained as a result of the demonstration," said the eco-activist.
Thus, the positions of the countries towards the COP29 conference being held in Baku on November 11-22 and the differences in the formats of participation are mainly determined by the experience of the countries within the framework of the latter, the trust shown, the seriousness of the approach, the domestic political situations prevailing in different countries, as well as the political disagreements with the country hosting the event. with. However, the reality is undeniable that after the end of the conference, Azerbaijan will have not only the full experience of holding the event, but also financial contracts worth billions of dollars.
