At the COP29 conference in Baku, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev sharply criticized the Western countries for their comments on his country's oil and gas industry. Aliyev said that Azerbaijan was subjected to a "well-organized campaign of slander and blackmail", reported "Reuters", quoted by News.bg.
In his speech on the second day of the meeting, where nearly 200 nations are discussing reducing harmful emissions from fossil fuels, Aliyev defended the country's position, stressing that its resources are a "gift from God" and that countries with similar resources should not be blamed for their contribution to the global energy market. He made a particularly sharp criticism of the United States and the European Union, accusing them of "double standards and political hypocrisy.
Shortly after Aliyev's speech, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that global dependence on fossil fuels was an "absurd strategy". He called on world leaders to provide the necessary funding to prevent humanitarian catastrophes caused by climate change, and warned that the world is in the "last countdown" to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The main goal of COP29 this year is to reach an agreement on financing of up to $1 trillion per year for developing countries to support their transition to clean energy.