THE COP29 climate summit in Baku was rooted in controversy. Since Azerbaijan was chosen to host the event lower than a yr ago, accusations of greenwashing human-rights abuses and political incompetency have marked the conference’s countdown. Many seasoned COP observers told me last week that this yr’s climate summit had turn into uniquely chaotic and frustrating: as a 19-year-old Anglican attending for the primary time, I discovered it difficult to process.
A rocky start was inevitable, because the host country, a serious fossil-fuel producer, was leading a summit dedicated to the contentious issue of providing climate finance for countries vulnerable to the results of climate change.
By the time I landed in Baku on the primary Friday, COP was already in an existential crisis. In opening remarks, President Aliyev of Azerbaijan described oil reserves as “a present from God” and criticised “Western fake-news media and so-called independent NGOs and a few politicians . . . competing in spreading disinformation and false details about our country”.
It marked the beginning of an event often defined by the post-truth populist pushback on progress made within the UAE last yr. Saudi Arabia led an try to reverse last yr’s commitment to phasing out oil and gas, and almost succeeded in delaying climate-mitigation negotiations until COP30 in Brazil — a danger narrowly averted by the diplomatic efforts of the UK and others. Rejuvenated by the election of Donald Trump to the American presidency per week before, fossil-fuel lobbyists controlled the headlines and momentum in Baku.
It was a dire situation to be in, and one which made a Christian message of hope all of the more necessary. I used to be the youngest member of the Christian Climate Observers Program (CCOP), a non-denominational network of Christian environmentalists from the world over who gathered on the summit.
Besides meeting religious leaders — including the Anglican Communion’s representative to the UN, Martha Jarvis, and the Bishop of Panama, the Rt Revd Julio Murray — we participated within the Faith Pavilion: a hub for religious and spiritual activists at COP. Surrounded by the Pavilions of African and Pacific nations, who offered sobering warnings, and amid every day setbacks within the negotiating chambers, we got here along with followers of other faiths to provide a unified message of spiritual optimism. We must place confidence in God’s intervention to save lots of the planet, and switch our dread into righteous anger: I heard reference to the scripture of Jesus turning the tables of the temple moneychangers repeated here at the very least half a dozen times. For the American environmentalists in our team, it stays a tricky sell.
Christian groups weren’t the one ones trying to keep up a constructive optimism on the talks. At a press conference at COP’s halfway point, the WWF’s Senior Adviser, Mark Lutes, told me that he was “cautiously optimistic” that national “red lines” on climate finance could be breached to achieve an agreement. In the top, this proved correct; nevertheless it was not the rich nations that were forced to compromise.
There was a powerful effort to cultivate a green image within the host country, an indication, perhaps, that the federal government of Azerbaijan wouldn’t let the talks fail completely. Schools and universities were closed in Baku to spice up the variety of volunteers, of whom there have been 1000’s. New cycle paths and bus lanes without spending a dime shuttle buses had been painted across town just weeks before the event.
The talks were rescued from total failure. But we saw the dismay of activists and political leaders when the centrepiece deal — $300 billion a yr for climate finance for the developing world by 2035 — was announced. It falls far in need of meeting even essentially the most urgent needs of essentially the most vulnerable. As Christian delegates, we’re still grateful for the little progress that was made, and have hope for next yr’s summit within the Brazilian city of Belém. But, for now, we’re frustrated. True climate justice stays clouded by empty words and emptier guarantees.
Ned Remington was a part of the CCOP delegation. He raised funds for his train journey to Baku with the support of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral and the Bishop of Salisbury.
