Climate activist Greta Thunberg has announced her boycott of COP29, condemning Azerbaijan’s use of the conference to distract from its ongoing ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, armradio.am reports.
In an interview with OC Media, Thunberg explained why she decided to join the protest in Tbilisi rather than attend the climate conference in Baku. She expressed strong objections to Azerbaijan’s role as the host, condemning it as “extreme hypocrisy” by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“Azerbaijan is a country deeply reliant on fossil fuels, and the Azerbaijani regime has plans to further expand its fossil fuel production,” Thunberg stated passionately. “It’s shocking that an authoritarian, oil-dependent state like Azerbaijan is being allowed to host a global climate event like COP. This decision not only affects the climate but is also an insult to those suffering from environmental and human rights abuses.”
“I am not going to COP29 in Azerbaijan,” she asserted and continued that this conference will be taking place in a country whose regime oppresses its people, continues ethnic cleansing against Armenians, and disregards the climate crisis by prioritizing fossil fuel expansion.
