Across the world, there have been various articles printed in the media, criticizing the fact that Azerbaijan is hosting COP29 because the country is a major oil producer. As a former Israeli communication minister, I disagree with such criticism, believing that Azerbaijan is the ideal country to host the COP29 conference.
Azerbaijan is a multi-cultural, tolerant and pluralistic country, which respects minority rights and women's rights. It is an island of freedom and stability, neighboring a totalitarian dictatorship like Iran, which systematically represses both women and minorities. In the Middle East, the country is a bastion for human rights and environmental activism, where eco-activists protested against environmental degradation for months, making it a national cause.
Azerbaijan has recently announced its plan to increase the share of renewables across its energy sector to almost a third. For a major oil producing country like Azerbaijan, this is a big deal, especially given that the present share of renewables was 20.86%.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov proclaimed, "By 2027, in the first phase of partnership with energy companies, we are planning to realize close to 2GW of new renewable volumes, which will increase the share of renewables in installed capacity to 33%." This is of vital importance because climate change has worsened in recent years. We are already feeling the effects. We are at a tipping point where we have to take action. It is not even a matter of preventing it anymore. Azerbaijan is a nation of action, as we have witnessed the green villages sprouting up across the Karabakh region, where the Caucuses country is working to turn a landmine-infested war torn region into an environmental green zone, which produces agriculture in an environmentally sound manner. These efforts have been recognized by the international community when they decided to let Azerbaijan host COP29.
COP29 is trying to make sure that vulnerable communities, especially the poor, women and minorities, are able to be resilient and survive climate change and to be able to thrive. COP29 is about making sure that cities will be prepared for climate change, as some cities and even countries can find themselves underwater if action is not taken. Therefore, climate change awareness is very important because it is already happening and worsening.
A lot of smaller countries like Azerbaijan, Israel, and Costa Rica seem to be much more concerned with environmental issues than bigger countries like Russia, the United States, China and India are. Since smaller countries are more adversely affected by climate change than bigger countries are, they are more likely to take action to try to tackle the issue than bigger countries are. They also have less extractive resources, so eco-tourism is very important to them as an asset. Therefore, they take action to promote green tourism. Also, people are more pro-environment and less bigoted in Azerbaijan than they are in many bigger countries. They are smaller and thus are more on a human scale. The scale is important in creating a green environment that promotes tolerance and understanding.
Climate change is no longer about the non-human world and saving the ecosystem. It has also become a social justice issue because people are dying because of climate change. It is affecting disadvantaged populations disproportionately, especially in the geographic South and by the ocean. Global temperatures rose about 1.98°Foffsite link (1.1°C) from 1901 to 2020, but climate change refers to more than an increase in temperature. It also includes sea level rise, changes in weather patterns like drought and flooding, and much more.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, "Drought can harm food production and human health. Flooding can lead to disease spread and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Human health issues can increase mortality, impact food availability, and limit worker productivity. Climate change impacts are seen throughout every aspect of the world we live in." For this reason, the COP29 Conference being hosted in Azerbaijan is of vital importance for the global community and critics condemning Azerbaijan should instead focus their efforts on how to get countries like China, India, the US and Russia, who are this world's biggest polluters, to cooperate with climate change initiatives, rather than picking on a small struggling country like Azerbaijan.
Ayoob Kara served as Israel's minister of communications.
