As host of the COP29 summit, Baku must stop fossil fuel expansion, cut its emissions further, and work to deliver an ambitious climate finance goal
By Joseph Zane Sikulu
Here is his open letter to Mukhtar Babayev, president-designate of the COP29 UN climate summit, which will take place in November in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Dear COP29 President-Designate Babayev,
My name is Joseph Sikulu, and I am Tongan. Last week you visited my home island, where your team witnessed torrential rains and an earthquake. You witnessed how susceptible our people are to disasters, and how prepared we must be to meet them.
The escalating climate crisis exacerbates already destructive disasters and last week, as COP29 President-Designate, you met with the UN Secretary-General here in Tonga and acknowledged our realities. You made a commitment to amplify the voices of the Pacific Islands and build a more resilient, sustainable future ahead of COP29.
But the time for amplifying our voices is over. We need action. Fossil fuels are at the root of this crisis, fossil fuels threaten our islands.
Despite being confronted with devastating climate impacts, and the prospects of many more, we gathered in solidarity for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. We fight. And if we fight, we expect the same from you.
The Pacific has done the least to contribute to the climate crisis, yet we are fighting it the hardest. Pacific island countries have committed to achieving net zero by 2050 and 100% renewable energy targets. A transition to renewables means hope and survival.
If we can do it, so can you. As the next COP President, it is your duty to demonstrate leadership. In a letter to country delegations you called on them to deliver 1.5C-aligned NDCs and committed Azerbaijan to doing the same. But keeping 1.5 alive means no fossil fuel expansion.
Yet, this year, your president, Ilham Aliyev, called fossil fuels “a gift from the gods”. For us in the Pacific, such words aren’t just careless — they’re cruel. Our very homes are at risk, and keeping our Pacific homes means no fossil fuel expansion.
‘No more empty words’
Currently, Azerbaijan does not lead. Azerbaijan is nowhere near 1.5-aligned. Your climate goal uses accounting tricks to continue business as usual. You speak of “reducing emissions by 40% compared to 1990 levels by 2050”. However, your emissions were much higher in 1990 than they are in the twenty-first century. We need to completely phase out fossil fuels by 2050. Your climate goal is to do nothing while you plan to expand fossil fuels for exports.
Instead of holding the fossil fuel industry to account, you have presented a greenwashing fund to allow industry to continue with business as usual. The fund masks the ongoing expansion of fossil fuel production by SOCAR, your state oil company which is set to be the first to contribute. The $1-billion fund will operate at market rates instead of concessional finance, a pitiful gesture when set against the colossal sums needed for genuine climate action and reparations – a cynical attempt to distract from your country’s destructive environmental practices.
We can’t afford any more empty words. The world needs you to lead it towards an ambitious and fair new collective finance goal at COP29 to facilitate the global energy transition. We need real, new and transparent finance, coupled with a global effort, particularly on behalf of countries in the Global North and those, like yours and Brazil, that will host international climate summits. It’s your responsibility to make sure that COP29 results in meaningful climate finance commitments and the financial resources to swiftly transition away from fossil fuels for good, with justice, equity and respect at the forefront.
We have neither the time nor the patience for more scams, or games of smoke and mirrors like your greenwashing fund. To keep global warming below 1.5C, we need a full and immediate phase-out of fossil fuels – period.
Azerbaijan must step up with ambitious climate goals before November, especially if it seeks to be seen as a respected climate host. Real climate leadership is not optional; it’s a prerequisite for hosting climate summits – and so should be respecting and upholding human rights and civic space. Now is the time to make real commitments – and to deliver on them.
Joseph Zane Sikulu is a member of the Pacific Climate Warriors and Pacific Director for climate campaign group 350.org.
