Sunday November 17th was the official day of rest for COP29 participants as negotiations stalled, the pavilion chaos closed its doors, and sessions ceased for the entire day. The result: the city of Baku was bustling to accommodate the sudden extreme influx of tourists and foreigners looking to explore the city all at once. I was among them, looking to enjoy some sight seeing and I set my sights on the historic Old City area.
After 1 full week in Baku I am finally getting a handle on how to navigate the city. Maybe. But Old City was a challenge as the cobblestone roads weave in and out of one another irregularly, most roads too narrow to accommodate more than a single person to pass. But it is certainly beautiful.
Excited to give my COP29-overloaded brain a break, I decided to visit the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan which is located just outside of the Old City. My favorite exhibitions were the ancient pottery samples which provided a window into the daily workings of Azerbaijani life going back to Neolithic times. As I moved through the exhibits, getting closer and closer to contemporary times, I noticed I was enjoying myself a little less the closer I got to today. As the exhibits’ foci shifted from historical intrigue to modern socio-political landscapes, modern war, and economy I became reminded of the reality of historical trauma that the global proletariat have endured under oppressive regimes the world over.
I learned that the very first oil industry began in Baku, Azerbaijan. As early as the 1200’s, famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo recorded his chancing upon what is thought to be an oil well in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis used to procure oil for use in burning and fire, an effect of combustion and a very early precursor for the use of oil in combustion engines and global transport. According to the United Nations, fossil fuels account for over 75% of greenhouse gas emissions as well as over 90% of carbon dioxide emissions globally.
It was not lost on me how ironic it was that I traveled halfway across the world for COP29, with a mind to dismantle the global reliance on fossil fuel usage, without realizing I was also on a pilgrimage to the source of the oil industry itself.
In 1806 the Russian Empire occupied Baku and began a monopoly on Azerbaijani oil. At the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan the exhibit showcasing this time period said in plain terms: The Russian Empire exploited Baku’s oil resources, exporting Baku oil products to Russia while providing no compensation to Azerbaijan in the process. And as Vladimir Lenin famously said, ‘Soviet Russia cannot survive without Baku oil.’ — resulting in the Russians Red Army occupation of Azerbaijan until its fall in 1991. Azerbaijan finally claimed independence in 1991.
A large cause of social turmoil, oppression, and exploitation of Azerbaijan throughout history has to do with their access to a valuable commodity gifted to this area through the natural resources located on this land. Learning the history of Baku and the exploitation of land here led me to think about something I noticed at COP29 this past week that has been on my mind: the expansion of ecotourism and the well meaning greenwashing of colonial exploitation.
In many discussions occurring at COP29 this year there is a focus on solution building and how the proverbial ‘we’ will fund sustainable climate mitigation and adaptation movements. As the United Nation likes to point out, the first and worst effects of the global climate crisis are being felt by the Indigenous peoples of the world. Right now, our island relatives are already navigating devastating losses of natural habitat and shifting geography resulting in further degradation of traditional ecological knowledge systems.
The irony is that many of these island communities also support a disproportionate fraction of global tourism. In an effort to experience paradise, the Global North flock to island communities and spend portions of their salaries in these places in the process. Many sessions and government entities are now proposing efforts and techniques to expand this spending power to allow for further economic stimulus in these communities so that they may have an easier time supporting their climate adaptation efforts.
While I will never knock a hustle on the part of the Indigenous folks looking to increase earning potential in their communities, I am alarmed that we are entertaining government representatives from the Global North who are actively proposing ways for the Global South to increase the exploitation of their natural resources in order to… save their natural resources?
Why is the burden of climate adaptation being placed upon communities that contribute to the climate crisis the least?
There are generational fishing traditions in Jamaica which cannot be practiced today due to hotels and resorts monopoly on beach front property. Delicate reefs are being compromised due to tourism. Native peoples in Tuvalu are watching their ancestral coastlines dissipate within their lifetimes. The burden of funding climate adaptation, cultural preservation and environmental protections should not fall upon those who have been burdened and exploited the most themselves. Us Native folks have already lost so much and continue to find our ways are compromised in the face of the climate crisis. It is time the Global North pay their equitable share. Quit pretending these carbon credits will reverse the damage done and roll up your sleeves.
Antavia is a Climate Generation Window Into COP delegate for COP29. To learn more, we encourage you to meet the full delegation, support our delegates, and subscribe to the Window Into COP digest.
Antavia descends from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and grew up in South Minneapolis. She earned her associates degree at Minneapolis College as a Power of You scholar and continued her studies in chemistry at Metro State University as an Increasing Diversity in Environmental Careers Fellow, as well as abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico as a Gilman International Scholar. Antavia has been a PhD student of chemistry at the University of Minnesota where she helped teach undergraduate analytical chemistry labs and spent time researching and synthesizing porous nanoparticles for PFAS phytoremediation as a 3M Science and Technology Fellow. In her work she develops and implements a STEM curriculum that honors and supports Indigenous ways of knowing and cultural protocol for Native American high school students in South Minneapolis. Her work in STEM educational equity has been shown to increase science interest and engagement for Indigenous girls in particular.
The post Ecotourism or Exploitation? appeared first on Climate Generation.
A new storm recovery charge could soon hit Georgia Power customers’ bills, as climate change drives more destructive weather across the state.
Hurricane Helene may be long over, but its costs are poised to land on Georgians’ electricity bills. After the storm killed 37 people in Georgia and caused billions in damage in September 2024, Georgia Power is seeking permission from state regulators to pass recovery costs on to customers.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill says she supports both AI and lowering her constituents’ bills.
With New Jersey’s cost-of-living “crisis” at the center of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s agenda, her administration has inherited a program that approved a $250 million tax break for an artificial intelligence data center.
Amid Affordability Crisis, New Jersey Hands $250 Million Tax Break to Data Center
Gabrielle Dreyfus is chief scientist at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, Thomas Röckmann is a professor of atmospheric physics and chemistry at Utrecht University, and Lena Höglund Isaksson is a senior research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
This March scientists and policy makers will gather near the site in Italy where methane was first identified 250 years ago to share the latest science on methane and the policy and technology steps needed to rapidly cut methane emissions. The timing is apt.
As new tools transform our understanding of methane emissions and their sources, the evidence they reveal points to a single conclusion: Human-caused methane emissions are still rising, and global action remains far too slow.
This is the central finding of the latest Global Methane Status Report. Four years into the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for a 30% cut in global emissions by 2030, the good news is that the pledge has increased mitigation ambition under national plans, which, if fully implemented, could result in the largest and most sustained decline in methane emissions since the Industrial Revolution.
The bad news is this is still short of the 30% target. The decisive question is whether governments will move quickly enough to turn that bend into the steep decline required to pump the brake on global warming.
What the data really show
Assessing progress requires comparing three benchmarks: the level of emissions today relative to 2020, the trajectory projected in 2021 before methane received significant policy focus, and the level required by 2030 to meet the pledge.
The latest data show that global methane emissions in 2025 are higher than in 2020 but not as high as previously expected. In 2021, emissions were projected to rise by about 9% between 2020 and 2030. Updated analysis places that increase closer to 5%. This change is driven by factors such as slower than expected growth in unconventional gas production between 2020 and 2024 and lower than expected waste emissions in several regions.
Gas flaring soars in Niger Delta post-Shell, afflicting communities
This updated trajectory still does not deliver the reductions required, but it does indicate that the curve is beginning to bend. More importantly, the commitments already outlined in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions and Methane Action Plans would, if fully implemented, produce an 8% reduction in global methane emissions between 2020 and 2030. This would turn the current increase into a sustained decline. While still insufficient to reach the Global Methane Pledge target of a 30% cut, it would represent historical progress.
Solutions are known and ready
Scientific assessments consistently show that the technical potential to meet the pledge exists. The gap lies not in technology, but in implementation.
The energy sector accounts for approximately 70% of total technical methane reduction potential between 2020 and 2030. Proven measures include recovering associated petroleum gas in oil production, regular leak detection and repair across oil and gas supply chains, and installing ventilation air oxidation technologies in underground coal mines. Many of these options are low cost or profitable. Yet current commitments would achieve only one third of the maximum technically feasible reductions in this sector.
Recent COP hosts Brazil and Azerbaijan linked to “super-emitting” methane plumes
Agriculture and waste also provide opportunities. Rice emissions can be reduced through improved water management, low-emission hybrids and soil amendments. While innovations in technology and practices hold promise in the longer term, near-term potential in livestock is more constrained and trends in global diets may counteract gains.
Waste sector emissions had been expected to increase more rapidly, but improvements in waste management in several regions over the past two decades have moderated this rise. Long-term mitigation in this sector requires immediate investment in improved landfills and circular waste systems, as emissions from waste already deposited will persist in the short term.
New measurement tools
Methane monitoring capacity has expanded significantly. Satellite-based systems can now identify methane super-emitters. Ground-based sensors are becoming more accessible and can provide real-time data. These developments improve national inventories and can strengthen accountability.
However, policy action does not need to wait for perfect measurement. Current scientific understanding of source magnitudes and mitigation effectiveness is sufficient to achieve a 30% reduction between 2020 and 2030. Many of the largest reductions in oil, gas and coal can be delivered through binding technology standards that do not require high precision quantification of emissions.
The decisive years ahead
The next 2 years will be critical for determining whether existing commitments translate into emissions reductions consistent with the Global Methane Pledge.
Governments should prioritise adoption of an effective international methane performance standard for oil and gas, including through the EU Methane Regulation, and expand the reach of such standards through voluntary buyers’ clubs. National and regional authorities should introduce binding technology standards for oil, gas and coal to ensure that voluntary agreements are backed by legal requirements.
One approach to promoting better progress on methane is to develop a binding methane agreement, starting with the oil and gas sector, as suggested by Barbados’ PM Mia Mottley and other leaders. Countries must also address the deeper challenge of political and economic dependence on fossil fuels, which continues to slow progress. Without a dual strategy of reducing methane and deep decarbonisation, it will not be possible to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.
Mottley’s “legally binding” methane pact faces barriers, but smaller steps possible
The next four years will determine whether available technologies, scientific evidence and political leadership align to deliver a rapid transition toward near-zero methane energy systems, holistic and equity-based lower emission agricultural systems and circular waste management strategies that eliminate methane release. These years will also determine whether the world captures the near-term climate benefits of methane abatement or locks in higher long-term costs and risks.
The Global Methane Status Report shows that the world is beginning to change course. Delivering the sharper downward trajectory now required is a test of political will. As scientists, we have laid out the evidence. Leaders must now act on it.
The post Curbing methane is the fastest way to slow warming – but we’re off the pace appeared first on Climate Home News.
Curbing methane is the fastest way to slow warming – but we’re off the pace
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