Much is at stake at the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. The petrostate host nation has locked up dozens of critics in the past months, while the country's president called fossil fuels a 'gift from God.'
When the Azerbaijani government launched a crackdown on reporters in August 2014, investigative journalist and human rights activist Emin Huseynov feared for his freedom and his life.
When the Azerbaijani government launched a crackdown on reporters in August 2014, investigative journalist and human rights activist Emin Huseynov feared for his freedom and his life.
"When they started first [the] repression against all of us, most of my colleagues [were] jailed," said the now 44-year-old.
A prominent critic of Azerbaijan's authoritarian ruler, Ilham Aliyev, Huseynov had previously been badly beaten by police. When the repression started in 2014, he sought protection in the Swiss Embassy in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet republic bounded by the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains.
Now Huseynov lives in exile. He cannot go back to his homeland for fear of ending up in prison like the dozens of other government critics and environmental activists currently behind bars in Azerbaijan.
NGO Human Rights Watch has said repression has worsened in the tiny petro-state over the past two years. The group has urged the European Union to spotlight the "deteriorating human rights situation" when world leaders descend upon Baku for the COP29 conference to discuss climate action and fair financing for global climate protection.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (right), who has close ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has described the oil and gas in his country as a divine gift.
Image: Grigory Sysoyev/Sputnik/Kremlin/AP Photo/picture allianc
As host and lead negotiator, Azerbaijan has said it wants to promote the goals of the historic Paris Agreement. It will focus on compliance with the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7-Fahrenheit) temperature limit, more climate protection, financial support for developing countries and climate justice, according to official documents sent to the nearly 200 participating states.
Oil, gas are 'a gift from God'
Traditionally, the climate conference host acts as a kind of mediator in negotiations and can set the tone of the talks. Azerbaijan's Aliyev has already made clear where his priorities might lie at the negotiating table.
"I have always said that having oil and gas deposits is not our fault. It's a gift from God," Aliyev told German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin this past April.
At the meeting, Aliyev said he would defend the right of countries to invest in and promote fossil fuels as a way to help drive his country's prosperity and fight poverty.
The COP host's electricity mix is made up of 93% fossil fuels. Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific project, has given Azerbaijan the worst possible rating for climate protection, on par with other oil countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran.
"Huge investments are being made in fossil fuels, and climate protection measures are minimal," said Niklas Höhne from the New Climate Institute, an NGO based in Cologne, Germany. The country also does not have a zero-emissions target.
COP host 'doesn't care' about climate
COP hosting duties normally rotate among states in the five United Nations regional groups: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Western European and other countries.
"The climate negotiations will only succeed if we have a strong and very credible presidency," said Höhne. Azerbaijan has advertised itself as better than it is when it comes to climate protection and "that is not a good start," added the climate policy expert.
Despite its fossil fuel reliance, Azerbaijan's potential for solar and wind energy and to produce green hydrogen for export is huge, according to Climate Action Tracker. While there has been some investment in renewables, that potential is barely being exploited. The organization estimates the country's emissions will increase by as much as 20% in the coming years.
Azerbaijan is a major exporter of both oil and gas - Image: Bulkin Sergey/Russian Look/IMAGO
"He doesn't care about the climate," said exiled reporter Huseynov of Aliyev, adding that the president is more concerned with using the international conference to legitimize his rule. He is "trying to use th