“Stop Big Oil Influence & Protect Human Rights at Azerbaijan Climate Summit”, over 150 organizations demand.
A large coalition of over 150 civil society organizations, including CIDSE, is calling out oil industry participation in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in a bid to rid the process of a serious conflict of interest that could threaten the success of COP29, the UN climate summit due to take place in Azerbaijan in November.
The recent announcement that Azerbaijan will include state oil boss, Rovshan Najaf, in the organizing committee, continues a worrying trend of increased oil industry influence on the host countries of the UN climate summits.
The global coalition led by 350.org and Oil Change International have detailed their concerns in an open letter to COP29 President, Mukhtar Babayev. The letter, originally signed and sent by the Executive Directors of 350.org, Oil Change International, Action Aid, and CIEL still hasn’t received a response from the COP29 presidency. Organizations including youth, environmental, human rights, and indigenous groups from over 50 countries and six continents have since signed on.
The organizations demand the removal of Rovshan Najaf, president of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), from the COP29 organizing committee, to address the conflict of interest. Last year, SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company announced plans to expand fossil fuel production which is incompatible with the Paris Agreement – the cornerstone of the COP climate negotiations.
The open letter further expresses deep concerns over civil society’s freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and human rights in the COP29 host country Azerbaijan. The organizations are asking Babayev to clarify the role of Ilgar Musayev, the Head of the country’s Service of Special Communication and Information Security, who has also been appointed as a member of the organizing committee.
CIDSE Contact: Lydia Machaka, Energy and Extractivism Officer
(machaka@cidse.org)
Cover photo credits: 350.org