The COP climate talks are at risk of failing – but there is a way to save them

The COP29 presidency is accused of striking gas deals in the conference sidelines; vast numbers of world leaders haven’t shown up; and now the UN’s former climate chief says the summit in its current form can’t deliver change at the speed and scale needed for the safety of humanity. With Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev using his opening address at the COP29 World Leaders’ Summit to once again call oil and gas ”a gift from god” “just like the sun, wind and minerals,” it is not hard to guess whether these elders believe the current host, Azerbaijan, would meet such strict criteria. With a heavily oil and gas reliant economy, accounting for roughly 90 per cent of export revenue and 30–50 per cent of GDP, Azerbaijan’s short-term interests are overwhelmingly stacked towards maximising fossil fuel income while it still can. The Paris Agreement mechanisms, with their focus on in-country emissions and reduction of demand for, rather than supply of fossil fuels, have enabled countries like Azerbaijan to argue that fossil fuel production should remain peripheral to the talk, sidelined in ambitious external initiatives such as the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.