BAKU, Azerbaijan — A COP host’s main job is to smooth things over. Ilham Aliyev has other ideas.
The Azerbaijani autocrat opened this year’s global climate conference, known as COP29, with a rant against Western “hypocrisy.” Two days later, he tore into France and the Netherlands for what he described as “repression” and ongoing colonial rule. Within hours, France’s top climate official canceled her trip to Baku.
The direct attacks — highly unusual in the three-decade history of United Nations climate talks — have left senior foreign affairs officials questioning whether the petrostate president is actually committed to the delicate dance of getting 200 countries to find consensus.
“These unacceptable statements risk to undermine the conference’s vital climate objectives and the credibility of Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency,” the EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Thursday.
