An undercover investigation reveals how the Azerbaijani petrostate used its position as host of COP29 to facilitate discussion of new fossil fuel deals at the annual UN climate conference
The Business Centre on Baku’s Central Boulevard is brand spanking new. This gleaming 13-story tower sits in the neighbourhood formerly known as Black City, birthplace of the global oil industry in the 1840s.
Then named for its famous pollution, the area is now home to artworks and office blocks.
In January, the building was inaugurated by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, a man many have described as the country’s dictator.
During its first year, the Business Centre has been home to the COP29 Operating Company, an organisation of strategic importance to President Aliyev. The firm is tasked with putting on the UN’s annual climate talks, to be hosted in Azerbaijan this month.
The selection raised a few eyebrows. Why would a petrostate like Azerbaijan, where two-thirds of government revenues come from oil and gas, want to host climate talks?
Fossil fuels, perhaps forever
One man who can answer that question is Elnur Soltanov.
He seems relaxed, probably because amid the busiest year of his life, a seemingly endless carousel of speaking engagements and meetings with foreign dignitaries, today’s encounter is low stakes.
Soltanov thinks he’s meeting with EC Capital, an oil and gas investor.
As the CEO of COP29, responsible for making a success of the summit, Soltanov has been asked to meet with EC Capital by his partnerships team, who are hoping to finalise a lucrative sponsorship agreement.
What Soltanov doesn’t know is that he’s actually meeting an undercover Global Witness investigator via video link.
After the usual pleasantries, EC Capital introduces itself as “specialising in global investments in the oil and gas industry,” as well as being “very interested in investing in the oil and the gas industry in Azerbaijan.”
And why wouldn’t you want to invest in Azerbaijan?
The war in Ukraine left Europe bereft of Russian gas, and some of the world’s richest countries have been flocking to Baku ever since, begging for fossil fuels.
Azerbaijan can lock itself in as Europe’s supplier of choice for a decade or more, and Global Witness analysis shows the government plans to increase gas production by one-third over the next 10 years.
If there is something that oil and gas corporations can bring to the table in terms of tackling the climate crisis, they are welcome- Elnur Soltanov, CEO of COP29In January, officials announced surprise plans to privatise parts of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). Naturally, firms like EC Capital are interested.
EC Capital’s dual role as both an oil and gas player and a climate conference sponsor isn’t unusual either. COP29 is explicit that it wants every sector to participate, meaning the oil industry is invited.
As Soltanov says: “If there is something that oil and gas corporations can bring to the table in terms of tackling the climate crisis, they are welcome.”
In any case, previous COPs have almost all been awash with representatives of the oil and gas industry. So yes, EC Capital is welcome to attend COP, and especially welcome to sponsor it.
Discussing oil and gas deals is, however, crossing a line. The UN’s code of ethics for COP officials forbids the use of their roles “to seek private gain” and expects them to act "without self-interest.”
Soltanov clarifies to EC Capital that his current focus is primarily on his role as COP29 CEO rather than as deputy energy minister and that, as far as he’s aware, SOCAR isn’t planning to sell shares to investors.
However, that “doesn't mean that there are no opportunities with investment, with establishing joint ventures with SOCAR.” EC Capital might be particularly interested in “green transitioning projects”.
So far, so good. Soltanov seems to be steering EC Capital towards more climate-friendly terrain. But then he mentions the “very large oil … and gas fields.”
COP is not about oil and gas- Elnur Soltanov, CEO of COP29Doublethink is a feature throughout the meeting. Soltanov references COP29’s climate goals, arguing that “we should be transitioning away from hydrocarbons in a just, orderly and equitable manner” and that “COP is not about oil and gas” – instead “it's about the climate crisis and how we can tackle [it].”
But his other statements contradict those lofty ideals. He repeatedly tells EC Capital that while oil production has been declining, Azerbaijan plans to increase its fossil gas production, emphasising its role as what he calls a “transitional fuel”.
In Soltanov’s net-zero world, “we will have a certain amount of oil and natural gas being produced, perhaps forever.”