- Formal negotiations
- Finance
- Global review
- Global report
- Digital sequence information
- Harmful subsidies
- Marine biodiversity
- Planning, monitoring, reporting and review
- Article 8(j) implementation
- Biodiversity and climate change
- Links with other bodies
- Around the COP
- Armenian presidency
- Protests
- Lobbying and influence
- Carbon and biodiversity markets
Nargiz Mukhtarova is a women’s rights activist and researcher in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is often referred to as a typical example of a rentier state. This model of governance with a political economy reliant on fossil fuel exports has not only created grave climate and social justice issues, but it also offers a shadowy prospect for the country’s sustainable development.
Moreover, the abundance of natural resources has enabled reprisals against those who speak out about the grim future to come. My husband, Farid Mehralizada, is one of those who faced such a consequence – and this happened just a few months before COP29.
On an ordinary morning, on May 30 this year, Farid gave me a gentle hug, followed by a spark of excitement about our baby to come in a few months. Rushing to leave home for work, little did he know that he would not return anytime soon and be with me on the day of birth.
In a warring world, Azerbaijan’s COP29 truce appeal draws fire as “PR exercise”
That morning, a few plain–clothed men forcibly detained Farid in the streets of central Baku, placed a bag on his head, and pushed him into a car for a ride full of threats. Farid was interrogated for two days before he was sent to trial over an accusation of smuggling in connection to a broader and politically motivated criminal case against critical media. Although the charges were not supported by firm or credible evidence, the court handed him a pretrial detention. Farid is now facing 12 years in jail with additional spurious charges introduced against him.
Farid is a renowned economist who has rigorously advocated for social justice and climate-friendly policies. Alongside his job as an economic analyst for Radio Free Liberty, he regularly provided analysis to the Baku Research Institute and commentaries to independent media of the country, even as restrictions on free speech have significantly increased over the past years.
Known for his critical analysis of Azerbaijan’s dependence on oil and gas, he highlighted the nation’s economic vulnerabilities – exacerbated by unresponsive governance – while advocating for climate action and sustainable practices.
“Chronic” reliance on fossil fuels
“One of the little discussed issues is climate change,” Farid stated in an interview with Voice of America, emphasising that while climate issues are often talked about in future terms, they are already a pressing reality.
Unlike many policymakers who present climate change as a distant concern, Farid argued that its effects are already visible and have significant consequences for both the environment and society. He pointed to rising droughts, which threaten agriculture and reduce productivity, leading to the threats of increased poverty and food scarcity.
Farid deemed Azerbaijan’s dependence on hydrocarbons as a “chronic problem” that discourages diversification – a necessity for ensuring the welfare of Azerbaijani citizens, and for fostering a green economy. In 2022, Farid pointed out that 92 out of every 100 dollars earned through foreign trade came from the oil and gas industry, warning that such extreme dependence was both unsustainable and dangerous for Azerbaijan’s economic future.
Azerbaijan pursues clean energy to export more ‘god-given’ gas to Europe
A significant aspect of Farid’s critique revolved around water resource management. In a country facing drought, Azerbaijan’s outdated irrigation systems lead to the wastage of one-third of its water resources – a statistic he found alarming.
He argued that this inefficiency reflects a broader failure to address basic infrastructure needs critical for climate resilience. Without modernising these systems, he warned, Azerbaijan would face severe water shortages, jeopardising agricultural productivity and increasing vulnerability to climate change.
Not an isolated case
Farid believed that investments in sectors such as technology, agriculture and renewable energy would foster a more resilient economy less reliant on fluctuating oil markets. By promoting such solutions, he implicitly challenged the government’s focus on oil and gas revenue as the backbone of its economy.
In doing so, he may have been perceived as undermining established power structures, as his economic solutions indirectly threatened the status quo. Farid’s arrest, in this context, seems to reflect the government’s discomfort with his calls for reform and diversification.
In Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s net zero vision clashes with legacy of war
Farid’s case is not an isolated one. Over the past year, a number of journalists, researchers and human rights defenders have faced repercussions for their critical work. Several independent media outlets and NGOs have been targeted with arrests in an ongoing crackdown, including Abzas Media, with which Farid was accused of collaborating.
Yet, what happened to Farid is reflective of risks faced by all activists and experts advocating for climate justice and social welfare in Azerbaijan. As his case demonstrates, the fight for climate justice and transparency often intersects with broader political struggles, underscoring the need for systemic change in both environmental policy and governance. Thus, COP29 attendees should recognise these struggles – and extend their solidarity with those who have become victims.
The post How Azerbaijan locked up climate and social justice advocate ahead of COP29 appeared first on Climate Home News.
How Azerbaijan locked up climate and social justice advocate ahead of COP29
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Prepared by a coalition of nine Western Australian union, industry, conservation, and community organisations—including UnionsWA, the Conservation Council WA, and the Smart Energy Council—the WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan provides a practical roadmap to transform Western Australia into a clean energy powerhouse while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
Western Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads: lead the global clean energy economy or watch investment, future industries, and secure jobs go elsewhere. The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan outlines a transformative blueprint to harness the state’s world-class solar and wind resources. Discover how legislated renewable targets, green iron manufacturing, and a dedicated regional training strategy can generate tens of thousands of local jobs, lower household bills, and build a resilient, net-zero future for all Western Australians.
WA needs a clear and forward-thinking plan if it is going to become a competitive renewable energy powerhouse and maintain its economic strength through the energy transition.
“Western Australians know a faster renewable energy transition will lower their household expenses and prevent harmful climate pollution. But the community also needs clear direction to ensure this transition will create jobs, lower costs and not cause undue environmental harm.
“Here, sectors representing a broad range of interests have laid the groundwork for those outcomes, clearly outlining what is needed to create a future for WA that is good for the environment, for the climate, for workers and for the economy.
Summary
The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan sets out a strategic roadmap to position Western Australia as a global clean energy superpower while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
The report establishes three overarching goals:
- Creating local employment.
- Maintaining industrial competitiveness.
- Lowering household energy costs
To realize this vision, the framework details actionable measures to follow on from the recent WA Government announcement of a 75% Renewable Energy Target by 2031 for the South West Interconnected System. This includes developing a statewide Renewable Energy Target, coordinating statewide workforce and training pipelines, strategically planning regional infrastructure to safeguard high-value biodiversity and cultural heritage, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing through household electrification incentives and First Nations equity partnerships. Ultimately, the plan highlights that establishing clear policy and regulatory certainty will unlock lower energy bills, boost power reliability, and secure the state’s global competitiveness in emerging green commodity export markets.
Key Findings
- Statewide Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Targets: The report calls for a statewide RET and 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets to remove policy risk, lower capital costs, and attract clean energy investment.
- Transformative Job Creation: Accelerating the transition offers massive employment prospects, including up to 8,800 solar and battery jobs by 2050, as well as 24,000 ongoing and 11,000 construction jobs in a commercial green iron industry.
- Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness: Requiring large gas users to adopt binding electrification timetables and providing concessional financing will protect existing energy-intensive manufacturers from rising energy costs and impending domestic gas shortfalls.
- Green Commodity Export Leadership: Western Australia can build new export markets in green iron, green ammonia, and offshore oil/gas decommissioning by constructing shared common-user infrastructure and setting dedicated Green Commodity Export Targets.
- Coordinated Workforce & Training Pipeline: To address critical skill shortages the plan recommends establishing a WA Clean Energy Jobs Plan 2050, three regional training hubs, and dedicated pathways for female and under-represented apprentices.
- Environmental Safeguards & Community Benefits: Fast-tracked development must be paired with State Planning Policies that avoid high-biodiversity and cultural heritage lands, mandate new data centres to run on additional renewable power, and deliver household electrification rebates and First Nations equity partnerships.
What you can do
WA has an opportunity to lead on sustainable, clean energy and associated industries. You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
Countries have completed the first “global review” of their progress towards reversing nature loss by 2030 at the COP17 biodiversity talks in Yerevan, Armenia.
The review “notes with deep concern” that, unless action is “rapidly accelerated”, the goal to reverse nature loss and meet a set of 23 targets by 2030 “will not be achieved”.
It “urges” countries to accelerate action, including by “increased ambition in addressing the gaps”.
Much of the discussions in Yerevan focused on how to raise the necessary funds to help developing countries protect nature.
Some major economies pushed to expand the range of nations that are expected to provide finance, with countries agreeing at the end of the two weeks of talks that non-donors that want to contribute can “signal interest” before COP18.
This came after developed countries failed to meet a target to significantly ramp up nature finance over the last few years.
It also came as a landmark fund agreed at COP16 in Colombia to pay communities for the genetic resources derived from nature stands nearly empty two years on.
The Yerevan talks marked the halfway point of the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), the “Paris Agreement for nature” first made in 2022 and due to be achieved by 2030.
During the nearly 12-hour-long final plenary, countries voted for Quito, Ecuador, to host the COP18 nature talks, which will be held in 2028.
Countries managed to sign off on all the major negotiation texts, marking a stark contrast to COP16, which ran so far over time that the Colombian presidency lost “quorum”, forcing talks to resume in Rome months later.
Below, Carbon Brief has detailed analysis of all of the key outcomes from COP17.
Formal negotiations
Finance
Finance, predictably, was at the heart of the discord and deadlock at the Yerevan talks.
At COP17, discussions on finance had to achieve several outcomes.
The first part – to take stock of biodiversity finance mobilised so far to meet the nature deal’s goals – fell under the global review.
As the global report noted, developed countries failed to meet their commitments to raise “at least $20bn a year by 2025” for nature. Delegates pointed to falling aid levels and a sharp 27% decline in environmental funding for the 2026-30 period.
The second part was to agree on how to mobilise resources for the next four years, to meet the GBF’s goals and targets.
Calls to “broaden the contributor base” of who pays to protect nature – and whether that should include emerging economies – became the most fraught element of the talks.
Eventually, countries agreed on what Switzerland described as a “super, mega-delicate” text. It hinged on major “political compromises”, with “no major winner or loser”, according to Kenya.
Per the decision, countries that want to be included on a list of developed country donors can “signal interest” through bilateral, confidential consultations before COP18 and every alternate COP after.
Finally, countries also agreed on criteria to shape and resource a new, permanent financial mechanism to protect nature after 2030.
However, this did not immediately take the form of a new fund under the COP that biodiverse countries have demanded since 2022, deferring the mechanism’s institutional structure to COP18.
Resource mobilisation discussions at the GBF’s halfway mark were sup