Hideaki FUJII’s Post

Why is COP 29 happening In Baku, Azerbaijan? People are questioning that never before COP has happened in the plain view of a creaking oil rig excreting pools of stagnant oil and a functional oil refinery. Is it a reality check that fossil fuels are an integral part of energy transition since we are having the second COP after Dubai in a country entirely dependent on oil exports? European politics is facing a Green Backlash, COP in happening in Baku and Trump rode back on popularity vote. These look to be the ominous signs of new realization in concurrence with 'idea of energy transition is not all it seems' as pointed out by energy maestro Jean-Baptiste Fressoz in his new book 'More and More and More' Why Azerbaijan? Well, the Eastern European group was scheduled to anchor COP29, as the 2024 talks are called, and they were required to reach unanimous consensus on which of its members would host. Russia blocked the selection of every country that had condemned its invasion of Ukraine, vetoing potential candidates like Bulgaria, Slovenia and Moldova. That left Armenia and Azerbaijan as the final contenders on the table. One problem? They had been locked in their own war for decades.For obvious reasons, they threatened to veto each other’s bids to host COP29.  Russia then brokered a deal that would see Azerbaijan return 32 Armenian prisoners of war and Armenia drop its opposition to Azerbaijan’s COP29 host bid.So Azerbaijanis have some how scrambled to put together a team that can engineer some of the world’s most consequential diplomatic juggling.  Why did they also want to put up a flashy event like this one as they already host one of Formula 1 Grand Prix ? Media perception is that Mr Aliyev, the fifth time President, hopes that Baku’s polished image and Azerbaijan’s participation in global climate negotiations will distract from his own regime’s projection in the western world. Allegation of fraudulent elections and hordes of political prisoners is not helping global impression of Baku's democracy. What should USA delegates promise as the main agenda of COP29 is to negotiate and concentrate on climate finance? That is tough job because a postdated pink slip has been given to US delegates by President elect. They can promise dollars but at the moment avoid adding billions or millions after it. #COP29 #Energy #Energytransition #hmel #hpcl

The countdown to #COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference set for November 2024, continues. Updates for September 2024 (so far) include: 1. Small Island Representation: The government of #Azerbaijan -- which will host the conference -- has offered to cover the costs for negotiators from climate-vulnerable small islands to attend COP29, Reuters reported. 2. Central Asia - Energy Transition Investments: The first Energy Transition Investment Forum for Central Asia will be hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 15-26, 2024. Details emerged from the International Renewable Energy Agency (#IRENA), COP29 Presidency and Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan. 3. Progress Concerns: Weak demand for green products is curbing investment of up to $700 billion in #lowcarbon projects in heavy-emitting industries such as aluminum, steel and cement, #COP28 participants said, and Reuters reported. 4. Global Wartime Truce?: Azerbaijan has been accused of hypocrisy in calling for a global truce to coincide with the conference, The Guardian US reported. 5. Human Rights Concerns: The run-up to COP29 has seen more Azerbaijan government pressure on activists, a #France24 media report alleges. 6. Partners: The first official Green Zone partners of COP29 in Azerbaijan have been announced. These include Azerbaijani businesses SOCAR Green as the Energy Transition Partner, "PASHA Holding" LLC as the Impact Partner and Azersun Holding as the Sustainable Growth Partner, according to the Azerbaijan State News Agency. 7. Activist Concerns: U.S. Senator Ben Cardin called for Azerbaijan officials to release 15 jailed activists and journalists ahead of the COP29 summit, Barron's reported. Cardin is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Preparations: The COP29 Presidency officially launched a flagship initiative, the Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform (BTP) during the High-Level Dialogue (HLD) on September 3, 2024, according to the host party. HLD aims to sustain momentum for increased transparency action in the lead-up to COP29, the announcement said. United Nations: The UN has published a draft on climate financing due to be presented at COP29, Barron's reported, laying out the conflicting positions from which the main country blocs will try to clinch the next climate deal. Track ongoing COP29 news updates here: https://lnkd.in/eresrQrk

🌍 COP29 Kicks Off in Baku: Day 1 Highlights and Key Developments 🌍 On Day 1 of COP29, global leaders and climate experts convened in Baku, Azerbaijan, to launch this crucial summit. Here’s a breakdown of the main takeaways so far: 🌱 Opening Speeches: Urgent Calls for Action: COP29 opened with compelling speeches from Sultan Al-Jaber, President of COP28, Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP29, and Simon Stiell, UN climate head. 🤝 Reaching a COP29 Agenda: Negotiating Complex Issues An agreement on the agenda took time, with debates over how to transition away from fossil fuels and the inclusion of trade measures in climate discussions. 🌐 Trade Tensions: The BASIC group, led by China, proposed including trade measures like Europe’s carbon border tax, but ultimately agreed to defer it to presidential consultations, easing the path for COP29 proceedings. 💼 A Game-Changer in Carbon Markets: Azerbaijan prioritized the operationalization of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with COP29 approving new carbon crediting rules that allow developing nations to earn credits from emission reductions. However, some countries and civil society groups expressed concerns over the rapid approval process, fearing it lacked proper scrutiny and could compromise human rights and environmental safeguards. US Climate Stance Remains Resilient: John Podesta, the US climate envoy, reassured the world that despite political changes, the US will stay committed to reducing emissions. He highlighted the resilience of policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, driven by private and sub-national initiatives, and encouraged China to step up as a global leader in climate action. 🗣️ Notable Leader Absences and Key Upcoming Statements: Many prominent leaders are absent from COP29, including those from the US, China, India, and the EU. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is expected to seize this opportunity to spotlight the country’s climate plan, while the UK’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, may unveil ambitious 2035 emissions targets. COP29 has already set the stage for critical discussions. Global cooperation is essential to turn commitments into action and ensure that nations can meet the climate finance needs of developing countries, accelerate renewable energy growth, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. 🌍 #COP29 #ClimateAction #SustainableDevelopment #RenewableEnergy #CarbonMarkets #ClimateFinance #ClimateChange #UNFCCC #ClimateResilience

First day of COP29 Azerbaijan! #COP29. It with opening speeches from the UAE’s COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber, the (now official) COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev of Azerbaijan, and the head of the UN’s climate arm Simon Stiell. After their speeches, the opening session suspended so that what makes it onto the summit’s agenda can be negotiated off camera. The European Union is opposing an item put forward by China and its BASIC allies to negotiate trade measures. The other debate, according to a developing-country negotiator, is whether the UAE Dialogue on reacting to the Global Stocktake decision from last year is listed under “matters relating to finance” or not. Read more here (we will update this link throughout the day) 👇

COP 28 And Fossil Fuels: A ‘Transition Away’ But No ‘Phase-Out’ The COP28 UAE conference in Dubai concluded with a dull thud Wednesday with the roll-out of yet another uninspiring word salad final agreement. My new story at Forbes provides the details. Here is an excerpt: Reuters quotes Anne Rasmussen, lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, Anne Rasmussen, assessing the language as uninspiring. "We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual, when what we really need is an exponential step change in our actions," she said. But COP conferences involving more than 190 participating countries with widely disparate economic and energy security priorities and 70,000+ attendees are not really designed to produce exponential step changes, are they? COP rules requiring unanimous consent to all language included in each subsequent final agreement ensure that commitments will inevitably be watered down with qualifying language designed to enable each country to act upon its own unique interpretation of what phrases like “transition away from” actually mean. “Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech. “Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay.” Those are bold words, but everyone should recognize that “real-economy outcomes” in, say, Peru or Uganda are likely to look entirely different than those in Belgium or Canada. The same is likely true of the respective outcomes we will see in the coming years in India as compared to the United States. There is much more at the link below. Enjoy. #COP28 #UAE #climatechange #transitionaway #fossilfuels https://lnkd.in/gqFJJu98

🙄“It’s been another shady, oil-stained #Cop,” declared leading #climate scientist Friederike Otto – a view that would be echoed by many negotiators, diplomats and civil society groups. Many were shocked by the president of host country Azerbaijan telling the summit oil and gas were “a gift from God”. The Azeri presidency, in leading negotiations, avoided mentioning fossil fuels at all costs. It was caught trying to make oil-deals on the side and more than 1,700 fossil fuel lobbyists were welcomed to Baku. It is easy to forget “there are many lives and livelihoods at stake, and people other than those bought by oil are fighting for real progress, and for all of us”, Otto added. She hoped that at Cop30 in Brazil next year those voices will get amplified more and that urgently needed acceleration of the transition away from fossil fuels can happen for a safer, more equal world." "Having experienced horrendous extreme weather events over the past year, hundreds of millions of people across the planet sense their normal climate is changing, perhaps never to return to the stability of the past.In the face of that threat, and what the science is saying, one can only conclude the global response of governments and policymakers – Ireland included – is inadequate and far too slow in delivering known solutions – and #Cop29 is yet another indication of that collective failure." Wisely said Kevin O'Sullivan - we cannot wait for another COP or for our governments, policymakers and bureaucrats to bring about the transformation we need to survive - they have had 30 years. We, the people, need to repair, restore and regenerate everything that we can for life to survive on this precious planet. In the words of the Hopi Elders; "We are the ones we've been waiting for. We need to employ the wisdom of our Elders and the enthusiasm of the youth."  The time for action is now. https://lnkd.in/epcSFg_S

#Crunchtime: As the clock ticks at #COP29, negotiators are under immense pressure to come into an agreement on a whole range of issues, including the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), Global Stocktake, Mitigation. This COP has been a total disappointment, members of civil society are angry. In a press conference, Gerry Arances, from the Centre for Energy, Ecology and Development in Philippines 🇵🇭 said “It’s an insult that text on transition away from Namath Chowdhary from 350.org said “rich countries have not showed responsibility for the climate disaster they have caused” The atmosphere is tense, activists from developing countries are saying, better have no deal than a watered down resolution. Some key statements from civil society include: - = > No petro-countries should be allowed to host COP meetings, alluding to the fact that Azerbaijan is a oil producing country; => It’s unacceptable that there is no Clear reference to transitioning away from #fossilfuels => The proposed amount of $250 billion from developed countries is unacceptable. More especially the fact that amount includes all forms of financing. Developing countries want #climatefinance in the form of grants, not loans! => Parties should not agree to deal that is watered down, rather have no deal at all. => Civil society members felt that COP did not create enough spaces for civil society to engage in the negotiations.

WHERE WILL COP GO NOW? Club of Rome wants a New Approach CNN -- "Amid the chaos, prominent global climate leaders on Friday issued an open letter calling for a “fundamental overhaul” of the entire UN climate process. It was originally published saying the annual talks, known as Conferences of the Parties (COPs), were “no longer fit for purpose,” but that language was quickly removed." COP29 marks the third year in a row that the climate talks have been held in either a petrostate, or economy that relies heavily on oil and gas. The previous two were held in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and all three were criticized for alleged human rights abuses in the run-up to their events. Among the open letter’s recommendations is to implement a “strict eligibility criteria to exclude countries who do not support the phase out/transition away from fossil energy” from holding COP presidencies. Increasingly, the annual conferences have welcomed fossil fuel interests into the fold. This year, more than 1,700 fossil fuel lobbyists or industry players had been registered to attend the talks, according to an analysis by a coalition of groups called Kick Big Polluters Out..." But that would defeat the purpose if Big Emitters were kicked out... Non? Where is money for energy transition going to come from? The UN wants to "Tax the Rich". The COP Organizers are Ideological Purists... they want to avoid sullied sleeves mixing with Fossil Users. Better to stay in the Temple of Green and conduct Virtue Signalling Seminars. FAIL. They saw oodles of cash piling up from "carbon trading". It crashed like ENRON. The UN is not credible as a Fund Manager, nor as a Project Manager. COP needs a Reboot. #CarbonFinance G20 is a more reasonable forum: 75% of GDP and 75% of Emissions. Credit worthy. https://lnkd.in/geY_-PDp

Viewed as “one of the more disappointing COPs to date,” #COP29 concluded with frustrating results, despite the updated agreement over the weekend of $300 billion per year global finance target. Eurasianet provides a post-COP review of the host country and shares our recent report, “Western Complicity and COP29: Azerbaijan’s Authoritarian Petro-Regime Propped Up and Greenwashed by Western Investments.” You can read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gtwvVTw4

🌍 COP29: Saudi Arabia Accused of Modifying Negotiating Text As COP29 continues, tensions rise over accusations that Saudi Arabia edited official negotiating texts, threatening the integrity of the process. 🔴 What Happened? • Saudi delegates allegedly altered key climate transition documents, undermining the spirit of fair negotiations. • The move, alongside the country’s historical stance against fossil fuel cuts, raises concerns over impartiality and transparency. 💡 Why It Matters • This revelation could jeopardize the COP29 negotiations, where vulnerable nations seek fair representation. • Climate finance remains a hot issue, as developing nations already invest billions in climate adaptation. The outcome of COP29 will influence global climate action, and it’s crucial that all voices are heard equally. #COP29 #ClimateAction #Sustainability #ClimateFinance #GlobalPolitics