The United Nations’ COP29 climate summit began on this week, 11 November and has since received criticism from environmental groups for greenwashing.
Taking place in in Azerbaijan, Baku, the conference’s primarily focusses on climate finance. As stated in a press release, COP29 intends to “assess global efforts to advance the Paris Agreement,” and to “limit global warming” to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Key attendees at COP29 include Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, former COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber, Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Armenian environmental groups such as Ecolur have recently made allegations against the UN, suggesting they are greenwashing their events, which involves misleading the public into believing that an entity is addressing the climate crisis when it is not.
In a statement release by Ecolur, they claim that Azerbaijan has engaged in “mass deforestation”. In addition, they call the UN’s decision to host COP29 at Baku “problematic.”
An University of Edinburgh student from Baku told The Student that she “understands the UN’s mission … [but] that can’t happen if the climate crisis continues to grow.” She also noted that the Paris Agreement is “optional” rather than “mandatory,” emphasising that the UN should start by making such commitments “obligatory” to address these issues.
To help raise awareness and understanding of the conference’s goals, the University of Edinburgh offers a free online course, “Learning for a Sustainable Future: Live at COP29.” The two-week course, delivered in partnership with the British Council and Learning for Sustainability Scotland, explains the key topics of the conference.
In addition to the course, the university has launched the COP Café, an online platform where students and staff can watch live streams of the conference. Hosted by the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, it provides a space to follow the latest updates from COP29 and stay informed about the ongoing discussions surrounding climate change.
“Armen Sarkissian attends the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (72)” by President of the Republic of Armenia is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.