COP29 chief secretly filmed promoting fossil fuel deals

A senior official at COP29 local weather change convention in Azerbaijan seems to have used his function to rearrange a gathering to debate potential fossil gas offers, the BBC can report.

A secret recording exhibits the chief government of Azerbaijan’s COP29 staff, Elnur Soltanov, discussing “funding alternatives” within the state oil and gasoline firm with a person posing as a possible investor.

“We now have quite a lot of gasoline fields which might be to be developed,” he says.

A former head of the UN physique chargeable for the local weather talks informed the BBC that Soltanov’s actions have been “utterly unacceptable” and a “betrayal” of the COP course of.

In addition to being the chief government of COP29, Soltanov can be the deputy power minister of Azerbaijan and is on the board of Socar.

Azerbaijan’s COP29 staff has not responded to a request for remark.

Oil and gasoline accounts for about half of Azerbaijan’s complete economic system and greater than 90% of its exports, in response to US figures.

COP29 will open in Baku on Monday and is the twenty ninth annual UN local weather summit, the place governments talk about learn how to restrict and put together for local weather change, and lift world ambition to sort out the difficulty.

Nonetheless, that is the second yr in a row the BBC has revealed alleged wrongdoing by the host authorities.

The BBC has been proven paperwork and secret video recordings made by the human rights organisation, World Witness.

It’s understood that considered one of its representatives approached the COP29 staff posing as the top of a fictitious Hong Kong funding agency specialising in power.

He stated this firm was all in favour of sponsoring the COP29 summit however needed to debate funding alternatives in Azerbaijan’s state power agency, Socar, in return. A web-based assembly with Soltanov was organized.

In the course of the assembly, Soltanov informed the potential sponsor that the purpose of the convention was “fixing the local weather disaster” and “transitioning away from hydrocarbons in a simply, orderly and equitable method”.

Anybody, he stated, together with oil and gasoline firms, “may include options” as a result of Azerbaijan’s “doorways are open”.

Nonetheless, he stated he was open to discussions about offers too – together with on oil and gasoline.

Initially, Soltanov recommended the potential sponsor is perhaps all in favour of investing in among the “inexperienced transitioning tasks” Socar was concerned in – however then spoke of alternatives associated to Azerbaijan’s plans to extend gasoline manufacturing, together with new pipeline infrastructure.

“There are quite a lot of joint ventures that could possibly be established,” Soltanov says on the recording. “Socar is buying and selling oil and gasoline everywhere in the world, together with in Asia.”

Soltanov then described pure gasoline as a “transitional gas”, including: “We can have a certain quantity of oil and pure gasoline being produced, maybe perpetually.”

The UN local weather science physique, the Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change, acknowledges there shall be a task for some oil and gasoline as much as 2050 and past. Nonetheless, it has been very clear that “growing… new oil and gasoline fields is incompatible with limiting warming to 1.5C”.

It additionally goes in opposition to the settlement the world made on the final world local weather summit to transition away from fossil fuels.

Soltanov appeared keen to assist get discussions going, telling the potential sponsor: “I might be pleased to create a contact between your staff and their staff [Socar] in order that they’ll begin discussions.”

A few weeks later the faux Hong Kong funding firm obtained an e-mail – Socar needed to comply with up on the lead.

Making an attempt to do enterprise offers as a part of the COP course of seems to be a critical breach of the requirements of conduct anticipated of a COP official.

These occasions are imagined to be about lowering the world’s use of fossil fuels – the principle driver of local weather change – not promoting extra.

The requirements are set by the UN physique chargeable for the local weather negotiations, the United Nations Framework Conference on Local weather Change (UNFCCC).

The UN stated it couldn’t remark immediately on our findings however remarked that “the identical rigorous requirements” are utilized to whoever hosts the convention, and that these requirements mirror “the significance of impartiality on the a part of all presiding officers”.

Its code of conduct for COP officers states they’re “anticipated to behave with out bias, prejudice, favouritism, caprice, self-interest, choice or deference, strictly primarily based on sound, unbiased and honest judgement.

“They’re additionally anticipated to make sure that private views and convictions don’t compromise or seem to compromise their function and features as a UNFCCC officer.”

Christiana Figueres, who oversaw the signing of the 2015 Paris settlement to restrict world temperature rises to nicely under 2C, informed the BBC that she was shocked anybody within the COP course of would use their place to strike oil and gasoline offers.

She stated such behaviour was “opposite and egregious” to the the aim of COP and “a treason” to the method.

The BBC has additionally seen emails between the COP29 staff and the faux traders.

In a single chain, the staff discusses a $600,000 (£462,000) sponsorship cope with a faux firm in return for the Socar introduction and involvement in an occasion about “sustainable oil and gasoline investing” throughout COP29.

Officers provided 5 passes with full entry to the summit and drafted a contract which initially required the agency to make some commitments to sustainability. Then it pushed again, one requirement was dropped and “corrections” have been thought of to a different.

The BBC requested Azerbaijan’s COP29 staff and Socar for remark. Neither responded to the requests.

The findings come a yr after the BBC obtained leaked paperwork that exposed plans by the UAE to make use of its function as host of COP28 to strike oil and gasoline offers.

COP28 was the primary time settlement was reached on the necessity to transition away from fossil fuels.