Climate groups link oil industry to Gaza war amid COP29 summit

Climate advocacy groups are blasting this year’s COP29 over the presence of fossil fuel producers at the summit while highlighting the connection between the oil industry, host country Azerbaijan, and Israel’s war on Gaza.

In the Azerbaijani capital Baku, advocacy coalition Demand Climate Justice has been organising panels highlighting the issue, labelling the summit a “false solutions summit”.

Since the opening of COP29 the coalition, consisting of 40 groups across the world, has hosted three panels, with participants highlighting global inaction on climate change and climate justice, as well as the presence of the fossil fuel industry at the summit.

“The COP presidency is pushing a dangerous and undemocratic agreement on carbon markets that would present as ‘climate finance’ and would provide the ‘get out of jail free card’ for polluters to continue with their emissions further, pushing the planet on a path to catastrophe,” the coalition said following the first panel on Monday.

At the first panel Asad Rehman, Executive Director of participant group War on Want, linked the issues of climate change to the Gaza war, accusing the UK, EU and US of fuelling both, and undermining international law in the process.

“We stand at a crossroads with the very future of humanity at stake, facing a life or death struggle for humanity: on the one side the right of everyone to live with dignity or a world of walls and fences and sacrificed people,” he said.

On Tuesday, the group issued calls for further funding from ‘Global North’ countries to the ‘Global South’ under a “New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of $5 Trillion” to enable a climate transition for developing countries.

The NCQG, first agreed upon during COP15, sets a climate financing goal. The Paris Agreement of 2015 committed developed countries to help developing countries tackle climate change using the NCQG as a goal.

COP15’s initial goal was $100 billion a year but is set to be negotiated at COP29 after the Paris Agreement of 2015 required a new goal to be made by 2025.

The panel noted that the call comes as “Global North governments are about to increase their spending on weapons of war while ignoring how climate impacts are intensifying insecurity and displacement driving conflict.” 

However, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev hit back against what he called the “political hypocrisy” of Western governments and NGOs which highlighted the country’s role as a global oil and gas producer. He also labelled oil and gas “a gift from God”.

Gaza advocacy

Demand Climate Justice also highlighted Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, with many panellists wearing the traditional keffiyehs in solidarity with Palestine.

In London, climate protests have also sought to highlight the connection between Israel’s war on Gaza and the oil and gas industry.

The group organising the protest said that BP historically had a close relationship with the Azerbaijani government and its oil industry, which in turn supplies 30 percent of Israel’s oil through the BP-owned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

The groups, which include Fossil Free London and the Global Energy Embargo for Palestine protested outside BP’s headquarters amid its participation in COP29.

In a statement the groups “demanded BP stop their oil and gas extraction” accusing it of “hijacking” the COP process, and “profiteering from genocide”.

Robin Wells, the director of Fossil Free London told The New Arab that although BP staff avoided entering the office amid the protest, passers-by showed support.

“We were pleased to bring calls to hold BP accountable for continuing to both fuel Israel and prevent climate action to St James’ Square”, he said, adding that the group was helping to organize a demonstration alongside 60 organisations on Saturday over the UK’s role in climate justice and to end the Gaza war.

“The march for global climate justice will demand an end to fossil fuels and an end to the genocide in Palestine,” he added.