“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
The UN Climate Change Conference, COP29, is scheduled to take place in Azerbaijan from November 11 to 22. However, the decision to host the conference in Baku has faced widespread criticism globally, due to Azerbaijan's ongoing disregard for international norms and human rights, as well as its poor environmental record.
Ahmad Qazemi, a renowned Iranian expert on Caucasus affairs, recently published an article titled "Why Baku is an Unfit Host for COP29," in which he outlines the reasons the conference should not be held in Baku. Qazemi emphasizes that climate change conferences are usually hosted by countries with significant contributions to and progress in environmental protection. In contrast, Azerbaijan has a poor reputation and track record in this regard.
He specifically highlights Azerbaijan as the main polluter of the Caspian Sea, pointing out that Baku’s oil extraction activities have severely harmed the marine flora and fauna of the sea while oil pollution from these activities has even reached Iran’s shores.
Citing Azerbaijani media, Qazemi stated that decades ago, Azerbaijan disposed of nuclear waste transported from Ukraine by dumping it into the Caspian Sea, receiving $260,000 for each container.
Kazemi continued, stating, "Due to absence investment in sewage infrastructure, millions of tons of untreated urban, household, and industrial waste from the densely populated cities of Baku and Sumgayit are dumped into the Caspian Sea each year, threatening the ecosystem of this enclosed sea. Similarly, untreated waste from Nakhijevan is discharged into the Arax River."
The expert also pointed out that Baku's stated concerns about environmental protection are merely superficial and for show. As an example, he noted that Baku's worry over the declining water level of the Caspian Sea is driven solely by the negative impact it has on oil extraction.
Qazemi also discussed the environmental issues in the Azerbaijani village of Soyudlu and the government's crackdown on villagers who raised concerns about these problems. (For more details, see the article "COP29 and Baku's Cynicism.")
According to the expert, these annual conferences are not only about "environmental protection" but also about "human rights," and Azerbaijan is violating both environmental laws and human rights. In this context, he highlighted the repression of Shia Muslims and national minorities in Azerbaijan. The expert noted that Baku attempts to conceal these violations by hosting international events like Formula 1.
“Azerbaijan is currently exploiting COP29 to deflect global, particularly Western, public attention from the ethnic cleansing of the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched an attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, breaching the 2020 Moscow ceasefire agreement. This aggression forcibly displaced 120,000 indigenous Armenians from their homes, violating their rights to property, history, culture, and religion. By hosting COP29 and welcoming nearly 80,000 attendees, Baku is attempting to present a peaceful image and divert attention from the ethnic cleansing. Simultaneously, as news of the destruction of Armenian historical and religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh emerges, the Azerbaijani president has declared the region and its surrounding areas as "green energy" zones,” Qazemi wrote.
He added that, besides capturing Artsakh, Azerbaijan is also engaging in aggression against the Republic of Armenia by claiming its territory as 'Western Azerbaijan' and refusing to sign a peace treaty. Concurrently, Azerbaijan is pushing promoting the so-called 'Zangezur corridor,' which, according to the expert, will have devastating consequences for the region's environment. 'Against this backdrop, Baku hosting COP29 is a bitter irony towards the international environmental laws,' Kazemi asserted.
In conclusion, Ahmad Qazemi stressed that while the conference is being held in Baku due to Azerbaijan's oil wealth, the country is not a deserving host for a UN Climate Change Conference.