A senior Azerbaijani official has been accused of using his role at the COP29 climate change conference in Baku to facilitate fossil fuel deals for the host country.
Elnur Soltanov was caught on camera discussing ‘investment opportunities’ in the state’s oil and gas company with an undercover investigator at human rights organisation Global Witness.
The chief executive of Azerbaijan’s COP29 delegation, who also serves as the country’s deputy energy minister, told the man posing as a Hong Kong investor that there could be deals done with the state energy firm Socar.
‘We have a lot of gas fields that are to be developed,’ he is heard saying in the secret recording. ‘There are a lot of joint ventures that could be established.
‘Socar is trading oil and gas all over the world, including in Asia.’
The undercover Global Witness worker posed as the head of a fake Hong Kong investment firm which specialises in energy and said his company was interested in sponsoring COP29 but wanted to discuss investment in Socar in return.
Azerbaijani official Elnur Soltanov was caught on camera using the COP29 summit discussing investment opportunities with the state’s oil and gas company
Mr Soltanov spoke with an undercover investigator at human rights organisation Global Witness posing as the head of a fake Hong Kong investment firm
An online meeting was then set up with Mr Soltanov who told him the aim of the conference was ‘solving the climate crisis’ and ‘transitioning away from hydrocarbons in a just, orderly and equitable manner’.
But the official added that oil and gas companies ‘could come with solutions’ as Azerbaijan’s ‘doors are open’.
He told the fake Hong Kong investor he was willing to talk about deals on oil and gas and spoke about Azerbaijan’s plans to increase gas production.
Mr Soltanov first suggested the fake Hong Kong firm might be interested in some of Socar’s ‘green transitioning projects’.
But he then went on to discuss opportunities related to increased gas production in Azerbaijan and outlined moves for new pipeline infrastructure.
There is acknowledgement from the UN climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that oil and gas could be used beyond 2050.
But it previously said ‘developing… new oil and gas fields is incompatible with limiting warming to 1.5C’.
The development of new gas infrastructure could be seen as going against the historic deal agreed between nations at COP28 last year to transition away from fossil fuels.
Mr Soltanov, who is also on the board of Socar, later told the undercover investigator he would be happy to connect him with the members of Azerbaijan’s state energy firm to continue talks.
The fake Hong Kong investment firm received an email around two weeks later which said Socar wanted to follow up.
Emails exchanged between Azerbaijan’s COP29 team and the false investors show officials proposed a £462,000 sponsorship deal.
This would gain the firm an introduction with Socar, involvement in an event on ‘sustainable oil and gas investing’ and five passes with full access to the summit.
The Azerbaijan COP29 team even looked willing to waive climate requirements for the company.
Attempts to conduct business deals within the COP process could be a serious breach in the standards expected from officials.
Emails exchanged between Azerbaijan’s COP29 team and the false investors show officials proposed a £462,000 sponsorship deal
An oil well in Azerbaijani capital Baku. The development of new gas infrastructure could be seen as going against the historic deal agreed between nations at COP28 to move away from fossil fuels
The code of conduct for COP representatives is set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
A spokesperson for Global Witness said: ‘The UNFCCC urgently needs to act to clean up the COP climate talks, starting by banning the fossil fuel industry from sponsoring them, and kicking their lobbyists out for good.
‘We’ve had 29 talks with an ever-growing crowd of polluters and snake-oil salesmen present. Let’s try the next one without.’
COP29 will begin in the Azerbaijan capital Baku on Monday and governments will discuss how to tackle and prepare for climate change.
Mr Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s COP29 team, Socar and the UNFCCC were contacted for comment.