COP29 chief secretly filmed selling fossil gasoline offers

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

A secret recording exhibits the CEO 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 have quite a lot of gasoline fields to develop,” he says.

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

In addition to being the CEO of COP29, Soltanov can be the Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan and sits on the board of administrators of Socar.

Azerbaijan’s COP29 staff didn’t reply to a request for remark.

According to US information, oil and gasoline accounts for about half of Azerbaijan’s whole economic system and greater than 90% of its exports.

COP29, the twenty ninth annual United Nations local weather summit, will open in Baku on Monday, the place governments talk about how you can restrict and put together for local weather change and lift world ambition to sort out the issue.

However, that is the second consecutive 12 months for the BBC revealed alleged wrongdoing by the host authorities.

The BBC was proven paperwork and secret video recordings made by the human rights group Global Witness.

It is known that considered one of its representatives approached the COP29 staff by posing as the top of a fictitious Hong Kong funding agency specializing in power.

He mentioned that this firm was excited by sponsoring the COP29 summit, however in return wished to debate funding alternatives in Azerbaijan’s state power firm, Socar. An on-line assembly with Soltanov was organized.

During the assembly, Soltanov informed the potential sponsor that the aim of the convention was to “clear up the local weather disaster” and “get out of hydrocarbons in a good, orderly and equitable method.”

Anyone, he mentioned, together with oil and gasoline corporations, “might discover options” as a result of Azerbaijan’s “doorways are open.”

However, he mentioned he was additionally open to discussions on offers, together with these on oil and gasoline.

Initially, Soltanov prompt that the potential sponsor may be excited by investing in a number of the “inexperienced transition tasks” that Socar is concerned in, however then talked about alternatives associated to Azerbaijan’s plans to extend gasoline manufacturing, together with new pipeline infrastructure.

“There are many joint ventures that might be created,” Soltanov says within the recording. “Socar trades oil and gasoline world wide, together with Asia.”

Soltanov then described pure gasoline as a “transition gasoline”, including: “We can have a certain quantity of oil and pure gasoline produced, maybe eternally.”

The United Nations local weather science physique, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, acknowledges that some kinds of oil and gasoline will play a job till 2050 and past. However, it was very clear that “the event… of recent oil and gasoline fields is incompatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C”.

It additionally goes in opposition to the settlement the world reached on the final world local weather summit to desert fossil fuels.

Soltanov appeared keen to assist begin discussions, telling the potential sponsor: “I might be completely happy to create 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 acquired an e-mail: Socar wished to observe swimsuit.

Attempting to transact enterprise below the COP course of seems to represent a severe violation of the requirements of conduct anticipated of a COP officer.

These occasions are purported to be about decreasing the world’s use of fossil fuels – the principle driver of local weather change – and never about promoting extra of them.

The requirements are set by the United Nations physique answerable for local weather negotiations, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The UN mentioned it couldn’t remark straight on our findings, however famous that “the identical rigorous requirements” are utilized to anybody internet hosting the convention, and that these requirements mirror “the significance of impartiality on the a part of all presidents “.

Its code of conduct for COP officers states that they’re “anticipated to behave with out prejudice, favouritism, whim, self-interest, desire or deference, primarily based strictly on sound, impartial and truthful judgement.

“They are additionally anticipated to make sure that private opinions and beliefs don’t compromise or seem to compromise their function and capabilities as an official of the UNFCCC.”

Christiana Figueres, who oversaw the signing of the 2015 Paris settlement to restrict world temperature rise to nicely beneath 2°C, informed the BBC she was shocked anybody within the COP course of used their place to conclude oil and gasoline offers.

He mentioned such conduct was “opposite and shameful” to the aim of the COP and “a betrayal” to the method.

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

In one chain, the staff discusses a $600,000 (£462,000) sponsorship take care of a faux firm in change for presenting Socar and being concerned in an occasion on “sustainable oil and gasoline investing” throughout COP29.

Officials provided 5 passes with full entry to the summit and drafted a contract that originally required the corporate to make some sustainability commitments. Then it was rejected, one requirement was dropped, and “fixes” for one more have been thought of.

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

The findings come a 12 months after the BBC obtained leaked paperwork revealing the UAE’s plans to make use of its function as host of COP28 to strike oil and gasoline offers.

COP28 was the primary time an settlement was reached on the necessity to abandon fossil fuels.