COP29 drama: Oil giant hosts climate summit while leaders stay home
Azerbaijanʼs role as COP29 host raises eyebrows due to its massive fossil-fuel exports. Many world leaders skip the event while UK doubles-down on green promises‚ showing growing divide in climate talks
The climate-change conference COP29 picked an odd location - oil-rich Azerbaijan where fossil-fuels make up 90% of what they sell to other countries (which seems like putting a vegetarian meeting in a steakhouse)
Top world figures - Joe Biden‚ Emmanuel Macron‚ Ursula von der Leyen‚ and Olaf Scholz decided to skip this years meet-up; however Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband made their way to Baku‚ ready to show-off UKʼs eco-friendly plans
We have lots of gas fields to be developed
The summits track-record raises questions: after Egypt and UAE hosted previous meetings - both big oil producers - the pattern is clear. These fancy get-togethers (held in 5-star hotels) seem more about making deals than saving Earth
The UK team announced new targets: cutting carbon by 81% vs 1990 by 2035‚ which sounds nice but needs real-world checking. Meanwhile tech changes show whats working and what isnt:
- E-cars face more problems than expected
- Heat-pumps dont sell well even with money-help
- Mini nuclear plants show good results
- Battery tech keeps getting better
Instead of this yearly show‚ we need quiet zoom meetings where smart people can work on real fixes. Brazil - worlds 6th biggest carbon maker - will host next time‚ so maybe its time to end this expensive party
