2024-04-08 23:03:05
By hosting the COP29 session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries such as Azerbaijan are moving global climate policy in a more pragmatic direction regarding hydrocarbons and green finance.
As Day.Az reports, this is stated in an article by Canadian expert on public energy policy Joe McKinnon, published in The Hub.
Following COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, COP29 marks the third consecutive climate change conference to be held in the oil and gas producing state, the publication said.
“This could be seen as obvious hypocrisy on the part of the global climate establishment, but this is a simplistic approach. What is more interesting is why these countries [занимающиеся добычей нефти и газа] they generally want to hold this kind of conference,” the author notes. According to him, probably due to the understanding that today’s economy, especially in the field of energy and natural resources, is largely determined by climate policy.
In his opinion, countries such as Egypt, the UAE and Azerbaijan are approaching climate change in a completely different way: “They understand that global actions on climate change affect real economic changes. These trends are now manifesting themselves, for example, in global commodity markets and in future investment strategies.”
The author notes that COP host countries can use political capital and positioning to remain key participants in a rapidly changing global economy, including positioning themselves as financiers of the energy transition.
The article highlights that refocusing policy development on the economics of climate change is likely to resonate more with the new climate dialogues taking place in such countries.
“This trend has shown us that these countries are willing to come to the table and discuss our energy and climate future, but within a framework that recognizes that these are fundamentally economic issues. This is the best way to achieve climate progress at the lowest cost and, in turn, save public support for the changes we will need to make in the coming years,” MacKinnon added.