Image by Li-An Lim.
World leaders, negotiators, lobbyists and NGOs are meeting in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for COP29.
COP (Conference of Parties) is comprised of approximately 200 countries that ratified the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in 1992. The representatives of these countries meet every year to negotiate the best approaches to tackling the root causes of climate change.
But this year, a black cloud hangs over the conference as the United States is expected to pull out of climate discussions under a Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump aims to give a free pass to polluting nations while ignoring the catastrophic weather changes such as massive fires, floods, and storms that have devastated cities and communities around the world.
Many experts see this as not just irresponsible but downright dangerous, risking lives and livelihoods for the sake of short-term political gains.
The UN climate conference – the 29th such gathering, which will run from 11-22 November – has been billed as the “finance COP” as countries are due to set a new global climate finance goal this year.
Ahead of COP30 in Brazil next year, representatives will be submitting strong national climate commitments – known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
More than 100 heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance, according to UN sources.
But several world leaders and government officials have said they won’t be attending the conference.
The UN’s decision to host COP29 in Baku has been criticized, given the ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
As the BBC noted, Azerbaijan plans to expand gas production over the next decade. Many experts believe that with such a goal, Azerbaijan should not be hosting a conference that aims to transition away from fossil fuels. Azerbaijani officials are being accused of using the climate conference as a tool to boost investment in the country’s national oil and gas company.
There are also deep reservations about holding this key event in a country with a poor human rights record, where political opposition isn’t tolerated.
Naturally, Armenian NGOs are boycotting COP29, accusing Azerbaijan of “greenwashing” its dismal human rights record and environmental damage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The NGOs accuse Azerbaijan of engaging in deforestation, landmine planting, and the destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied territories.
Aside from the anger over hosting COP29 in Baku, Trump’s return to the White House in January means we can expect a second U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and a weakened global front against climate change.
During his first administration, in 2020, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, arguing that it imposed unfair economic burdens on the country.
But Trump’s disengagement from the Agreement damaged America’s international reputation and leadership on climate issues.
Contrary to his views, most countries support active participation in global climate initiatives such as the COP meetings and the Paris Agreement, seeing collaboration as essential for addressing the scale of global warming.
Under the Paris agreement signed in 2015, world leaders pledged to try to collaborate on preventing global temperatures rising by more than 1.5C. Without this concerted effort, climate change will only worsen.
Trump’s withdrawal is a retreat from global responsibility and will only weaken international efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions. By favoring fossil fuel industries over renewable energy investments, Trump willfully ignores the economic benefits of clean energy and environmental protection.
The point of COP is to underscore the urgency of cutting emissions and to emphasize that the climate crisis requires immediate, collaborative action. Now, Trump’s own actions will encourage other nations to disregard COP’s importance.
The right thing to do would be to remain in the Paris agreement and participate in COP summits. By doing so, the U.S. would be able to maintain its role as a global leader on climate change, influencing other countries to follow suit and collectively achieve meaningful emissions reductions.
But nothing will come of COP29 if Trump dismisses the urgency of the climate crisis, undermines global cooperation, and puts America at odds with the rest of the world in combating an existential threat.
Trump’s approach to the Paris Agreement isn’t just wrong; it is a reckless, short-sighted betrayal of responsibility, a shameful abdication of leadership, and an outrageous disregard for the catastrophic impacts of climate change that are already evident today.
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