'Azerbaijan - the Caspian petro-state ironically hosting the UN's COP29 climate summit'

As the UN's clime acme COP29 enters it's 2nd week, the Mirror's situation exertion Nada Farhoud describes a broadside of Azerbaijan that the satellite leaders won't person seen

Towering supra the metropolis of Baku are the Flame Towers - a acceptable of skyscrapers symbolising its historical nexus to fossil fuels.

In information the lipid and state successful Azerbaijan - dubbed Land of the Fire - was truthful plentiful it is said to person seeped into the ungraded and burned the ground.

Wells were dug successful the 1840s making it the world’s archetypal lipid municipality with galore locals priding themselves that their substance supplied the Soviet Army successful World War Two - helping to decision Adolf Hitler connected the Eastern Front.

World leaders, diplomats and negotiators person gathered present for Cop29 to sermon however the satellite tin extremity its reliance connected fossil fuels successful bid to debar a implicit climate breakdown.

It seems ironic fixed however arrogant Baku - erstwhile known arsenic the Black City arsenic each gathering covered was successful soot - is of its past and identity.

Keir Starmer and different leaders were ferried to the Baku Olympic Stadium on gleaming 19th-century European-style boulevards (so convincing it's hard to judge that immoderate of the buildings are lone a decennary old), portion delegates usage electrical buses laid connected for the summit. While the capital, location to the largest KFC successful the world, mightiness look cleanable and modern, the Caspian authorities is inactive precise overmuch babelike connected fossil fuels.

Just a fewer miles from the upmarket buying districts and cutting-edge curved skyscrapers that predominate the skyline, greenish and reddish pipes snake crossed the scenery portion piston pumps bob up and down successful the lipid fields. The flares of refineries basal retired intelligibly against the night-time sky.

In opposition to the manicured lawns of the capital, determination is hardly a leaf of writer oregon a histrion penetration arsenic trucks churn the land.

A caller study from Global Witness has recovered that implicit 840,000 radical successful Azerbaijan unrecorded dangerously adjacent to state flaring pollution, putting them astatine superior hazard of aesculapian problems, including asthma, crab and miscarriages.

Today, fossil fuels marque up 90% of Azerbaijan’s exports and 60% of its nationalist income making it 1 of the apical 10 astir oil- and gas-dependent economies successful the world.

Another survey released this week said the Petrostate to endure the worst impacts of clime alteration successful Eastern Europe with hotter temperatures, drought, wood fires and much erratic precipitation starring to terrible flooding. It explains wherefore I’ve not needed the wintertime overgarment I’ve packed contempt November usually experiencing chilly temperatures.

As I queued with campaigners, civilian servants and diplomats astatine Baku Olympic Stadium – a misleading sanction for a venue that has ne'er hosted an Olympic lawsuit - determination was a wide stench of fumes successful the aerial casting a smog implicit the city. It wasn’t wide whether it was from the flaring state from lipid fields extracurricular the metropolis oregon from the 1.4 cardinal cars connected the roads. With petrol starting astatine conscionable 43 pence a litre the roads are packed with marque caller Land Rovers and Alfa Romeos to clapped-out Ladas. Apparently the postulation could beryllium a batch worse, a taxi operator tells me, arsenic each schools person switched to online learning during the two-week summit.

Inside the stadium, immense cabins person been erected connected the transportation wherever the 2019 Europa League Final betwixt Chelsea and Arsenal took place. Keir Starmer, a die-hard Arsenal fan, volition retrieve the 4-1 defeat.

Wait successful enactment for a java (more astir that later) and you'll perceive an array of languages and dialects. Unlike the archetypal days of the disorganised Cop27 successful Egypt 2 years ago, determination is really food. But it is not cheap. I paid £4.15 for a cupful of beverage and £7.49 for a sandwich - vastly inflated prices successful a state wherever the mean wage is £325 a month.

While it is amended organised than galore erstwhile Cops, it is strangely quiet. Cop26 successful Glasgow successful 2021 was afloat of protesters, placards and demands for action.

It's hardly astonishing aft Human Rights Watch precocious published a connection explaining however it couldn’t beryllium definite that attendees’ rights to peacefully protestation would beryllium guaranteed.

Azerbaijan, an authoritarian authorities wherever media and civic freedoms are curtailed, is regarded arsenic 1 of the world’s astir corrupt countries, coming 154th retired of 180 states successful a ranking by Transparency International past year. There is small effectual governmental absorption and the president, Ilham Aliyev, won much than 92% of the ballot successful elections successful February to instrumentality a 5th consecutive term.

He isn’t held successful peculiarly precocious respect by galore of his guests. The lad of erstwhile president Heydar Aliyev, who led the state nether Soviet regularisation and was installed arsenic president aft a subject coup successful 1993, is unafraid of imprisoning his governmental opponents, and has amassed bonzer household wealth. Opening Cop by utilizing his code to picture his country's lipid wealthiness arsenic a "gift from God" didn’t assistance overmuch either.

Elnur Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s lawman vigor curate and main enforcement of Cop29, has besides been filmed seemingly agreeing to facilitate fossil substance deals astatine the clime acme - with critics saying the acme failed earlier it adjacent started.

Now arsenic the acme enters the 2nd week, the existent enactment starts - negotiating a caller clime concern deal. Without it, the Paris Agreement is successful sedate information and Cop29 volition extremity successful failure.