COP29 Chief Caught in Fossil Fuel Deal Controversy

Non-profit campaign group Global Witness posed undercover as a fake oil and gas investor group asking Elnur Soltanov, chief executive of COP29, to facilitate deals in exchange for sponsoring the event.

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The COP29 chief executive appeared to use his role at the UN climate summit to facilitate fossil fuel deals, as shown in leaked meeting recordings.

The undercover investigation by campaign group Global Witness exposed Elnur Soltanov, also Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister, agreeing to sponsorships in exchange for aiding oil and gas deals, a move that clashes with the global push towards climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

“We have a lot of gas fields that are to be developed,” he said in a video call with a man posing as a potential investor for EC Capital.

In the recorded conversations, Soltanov expressed openness to fostering discussions between the fictitious oil and gas group and state-owned oil and gas company SOCAR.

“There are a lot of joint ventures that could be established. SOCAR is trading oil and gas all over the world, including in Asia,” Soltanov said.

He said that while the purpose of COP was “solving the climate crisis,” EC Capital should “incorporate your activities with SOCAR’s activity during COP, so that you can … talk business to them and also participate in the COP29 process.”

“I would be happy to create a contact between your team and their team [Socar] so that they can start discussions,” Soltanov told the fake investment group. Shortly after the call, one of SOCAR’s most senior executives emailed the fake investment group.

The Azerbaijani Parliament has issued a statement condemning what it called a “hybrid attack,” and said it “will appeal to the relevant state institutions for a more in-depth investigation of the issue.”

In a statement, Amnesty International described the footage as “alarming,” though it said it did not come as a surprise.

“It comes as no surprise that a senior official from Azerbaijan’s COP29 team is using the opportunity to broker fossil fuel deals,” said Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s programme director for climate justice. “Fossil fuels make up about half of Azerbaijan’s economy and the vast majority of its export revenues, with its state-owned oil and gas company a major source of income for President Ilham Aliyev’s government.”

She continued: “However, this alarming footage once again reinforces the dangers of holding COP29 in a country that has close links to fossil fuel companies.”

‘Farce’

Climate activists have long called COP meetings a “farce” due to the presence of thousands of fossil fuel representatives, with Global Witness’ investigation reigniting debates over the role of fossil fuels in the summit.

The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the single-largest source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the primary drivers of global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere and raising Earth’s surface temperature.

This year’s talks are taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, a highly fossil fuel-dependent state and the oldest oil-producing region in the world. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), oil and gas account for about 90% of the nation’s exports’ revenue and 60% of the government’s budget.

In April, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said his country will continue to invest in gas production in order to meet European Union demand for energy in a “sign of responsibility.” 

“Having oil and gas deposits is not our fault. It’s a gift of God. We must be judged not by that but on how we use this resource for the development of the country, for reduction of poverty, unemployment and what is our target with respect to [the] green agenda,” Aliyev remarked.

The COP29 presidency was also criticized for failing to include any mentions of a plan to phase out fossil fuels in its summit’s Action Agenda despite the COP28 deal’s unprecedented call to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner to achieve net-zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

Azerbaijan is the third petrostate in a row to host the talks after one of the world’s richest petrostates in the world, the United Arab Emirates, hosted COP28 last year and Egypt hosted COP27 in 2022. 

At least 2,456 oil and gas lobbyists attended COP28 last year, an unprecedented number. At the 2022 COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, some 636 people linked to the fossil fuel industry were granted access.

An investigation by the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) and the BBC last year revealed that the COP28 presidency was planning to use meetings with foreign countries to push for oil and gas deals. Despite COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber repeatedly denying his involvement, leaked documents show that fossil fuels were among the talking points in meetings between UAE energy companies and 15 nations ahead of the summit. 

“Just as we saw with the UAE last year, the event’s hosts have an agenda that is at serious odds with climate justice,” Amnesty International’s Schaaf remarked.

Featured image: UNEP/Ahmed Nayim Yussuf via Flickr.

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