A senior official at the COP29 climate summit was caught on camera discussing how he would facilitate fossil fuel deals with Azerbaijan's state-owned oil and gas company.
Elnur Soltanov, the CEO of the COP29 organizing team and Azerbaijan's deputy energy minister, was filmed agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel investments during an undercover operation by Global Witness, a human rights and environmental advocacy group.
The scandal comes after increased backlash of fossil fuel industry influence at climate summits, following similar controversies at COP28 in the UAE, BBC reported.
In the secret recording, Soltanov is seen openly discussing potential deals and the ongoing role of fossil fuels in Azerbaijan's economy, which contradicts the climate goals of the COP process.
Soltanov speaks about the possibility of future joining ventures and even offers to connect the undercover investors with key players in Azerbaijan's energy sector.
"There are a lot of joint ventures that could be established," Soltanov says on the recording. "Socar is trading oil and gas all over the world, including in Asia."
The revelation comes just days before the start of COP29 in Baku, pointing to a serious conflict of interest.
The UNFCCC, which oversees COP events, expressed concern over the breach of conduct but has not yet responded with concrete action.
"The [UNFCCC] secretariat has the same rigorous standards every year, reflecting the importance of impartiality on the part of all presiding officers. Given the spiralling human and economic costs of the global climate crisis in every country, we are very focused on Cop29 delivering ambitious and concrete outcomes," the organization told BBC.
Advocacy groups, including Global Witness, are calling for stronger measures, including banning fossil fuel companies from sponsoring COP events and kicking out lobbyists.
"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," a spokesperson for Global Witness said. "We've had 29 talks with an ever-growing crowd of polluters and snake-oil salesmen present. Let's try the next one without."
