Cop summit descends into farce

The Cop29 climate summit has descended into farce after a group of influential world figures and climate experts declared it 'no longer fit for purpose'. 

The group, which includes former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and the former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, said future conferences should only be held in countries that can show clear support for climate action. 

It comes after this year's Azerbaijani hosts declared at the summit's opening in Baku that the country's oil and gas were 'a gift from God'. 

Azerbaijan is considered a major fossil fuel producer with oil and gas making up around half of its exports. 

Last year's climate summit, Cop28, was also held in a petrostate, the United Arab Emirates.  

'It is now clear that the Cop is no longer fit for purpose. We need a shift from negotiation to implementation,' they wrote in a letter to the UN.

'We need strict eligibility criteria to exclude countries who do not support the phase-out/transition away from fossil energy. 

'Host countries must demonstrate their high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris agreement.'

The group has also called for meetings on climate change to be held more frequently and for the process to be streamlined. 

It comes as environmental campaigners also hit out at Cop29's private jet hypocrisy with arrivals soaring during the summit. 

Data from tracking website Flight Radar now shows that 65 private jets arrived in Baku in the week leading to Monday, The Times reported. 

Some 45 planes landed on Sunday and Monday alone as the Cop29 summit got underway.

This compares to the 32 private jets that arrived at Baku airport during the same week last year.  

Denise Auclair from the Travel Smart Campaign said: 'The number of arrivals by private jet we are seeing at Cop29 puts front and centre the hypocrisy of using a private jet while claiming to be fighting climate change, particularly from an equity point of view.

'An executive taking one long-haul private flight will burn more CO₂ than several normal people do in an entire year.'

Many world leaders have chosen not to attend this year with President Biden, President Xi of China, and Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi all shunning Cop29 despite their countries being some of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.

Senior figures from the EU are also absent from what is feared will be yet another talking shop that achieves little or nothing in the way of concrete action.

French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are all staying at home.

Sir Keir Starmer is one of the only premiers from the wealthiest nations in Azerbaijan for the annual gathering, although the Taliban has sent a representative.

He is laying out a target for the UK to slash 81 per cent off carbon emissions by 2035, compared to 1990 levels.

Countries will also be grappling with Donald Trump's return to the White House, in what analysts say is a trend of climate scepticism in elections this year.

The next President of the US, the world's second biggest polluter, is expected to boost fossil fuels, roll back green incentives domestically and take America out – again – of the global Paris Agreement on tackling climate change, which commits countries to pursue efforts to curb warming to 1.5C.

The choice of Azerbaijan to host the talks has also come under criticism over its human rights record, with failings including the persecution of political opponents and detainment of activists.