COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, is at high risk of being co-opted to promote a pro-fossil fuel industry agenda, according to a new report by Transparency International (TI) and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC). The report warns that “a lack of robust integrity and anti-corruption measures in the UNFCCC arrangements for COP has opened the door for Azerbaijan’s government to use the summit as diplomatic cover to advance its domestic oil and gas interests and secure new fossil fuel deals.” It finds that not only is the COP 29 President a former executive of SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR appears to be closely involved in the COP, with its president and members of its supervisory board helping organise the conference. It also cautions that the conference may provide potentially lucrative business opportunities to companies with links to the country’s first family, with evidence of potentially corrupt activity continuously emerging ahead of the COP.
