COP29: UN climate talks ‘no longer fit for purpose’ say experts

The United Nations’ COP local weather talks are “no longer fit for purpose” and wish an pressing overhaul, key consultants together with a former UN secretary basic and former UN local weather chief have mentioned.

In a letter to the UN, senior figures say international locations shouldn’t host the talks in the event that they don’t assist the section out of fossil power.

This week the Azerbaijani president instructed world leaders gathered in his nation for COP29 that pure fuel was a “gift from God” and he shouldn’t be blamed for bringing it to market.

That got here days after the BBC reported {that a} senior Azerbaijani official appeared to have used his position at COP to rearrange a gathering to debate potential fossil gasoline offers.

The UN’s local weather talks have made vital progress in recent times, although unanimous settlement is required amongst virtually 200 international locations to take motion.

The Paris climate agreement, signed in 2015, outlines a long-term plan to rein in rising temperatures, as international locations attempt to maintain that rise underneath 1.5C this century.

They have additionally agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in power programs, and to treble renewable energy by 2030.

But whereas the authors of this letter recognise these achievements, they really feel that the slow-moving COP course of is “no longer fit for purpose” in coping with a fast-moving local weather disaster.

“Its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity,” mentioned its signatories. They embody former UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon, former UN local weather chief Christiana Figueres and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson.

This yr will probably be the warmest on record, with emissions of planet warming gases nonetheless rising, whereas the impacts of warming usually outpace the flexibility of nations to manage.

“Planet Earth is in critical condition,” mentioned main local weather scientist Johan Rockström, one other signatory.

“There is still a window of opportunity for a safe landing for humanity, but this requires a global climate policy process that can deliver change at exponential speed and scale,” Prof Rockström mentioned.

The letter has been prompted by rising issues about among the international locations chosen to host COP talks and their potential to ship a big advance within the struggle towards rising temperatures.

Just earlier than the newest convention began, a secret recording confirmed the chief govt of Azerbaijan’s COP29 crew, Elnur Soltanov, discussing “investment opportunities” within the state oil and fuel firm with a person posing as a possible investor.

At the beginning of COP29, the nation’s authoritarian chief, Ilham Aliyev, defended Azerbaijan’s present exports of fuel and plans to broaden manufacturing by a 3rd within the subsequent decade.

“It’s a gift of God,” he told an audience in Baku.

“Every natural resource whether it’s oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all that are natural resources,” he said.

“And countries should not be blamed for having them and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them, the people need them.”

The use of oil and gas are major causes of global warming, as they release planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide when they are burned.

President Aliyev also hit out at France for carrying out colonialist “crimes” and “human rights violations” in abroad territories.

Such strongly expressed views are extremely rare from the leader of a COP host, where the aim is to build consensus on how to tackle rising temperatures.

The authors of the letter are also concerned by the selection process for hosting COPs. Azerbaijan followed on from another major oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, which held the conference in Dubai last year.

“At the last COP, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered representatives of scientific institutions, Indigenous communities and vulnerable nations,” said former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.

“We cannot hope to achieve a just transition without significant reforms to the COP process that ensure fair representation of those most affected.”

The authors say that host countries “must demonstrate their high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris agreement.”

They additionally need smaller, extra frequent COPs with clear accountability for the guarantees that international locations make.