Know Your Host: Why It Matters That Azerbaijan Is Hosting the COP29 Climate Summit

This year’s ‘COP29’ — the world’s premier climate change conference — is about to begin in Azerbaijan.

Over 11 days of meetings, thousands of political and business leaders will enjoy the hospitality of one of the world’s most repressive and corrupt regimes. Their presence, and the visibility that accompanies such a marquee event, will advance one of the Azerbaijani government’s biggest goals: boosting its credibility and position on the global stage.

“We consider it as a sign of respect from the international community to Azerbaijan and what we are doing,” the country’s authoritarian president, Ilham Aliyev, has said of the event, which brings together parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

For years, OCCRP has worked with local journalists to expose how the country’s small elite, centered around the ruling Aliyev family, has enriched itself by plundering the country’s wealth — often at the expense of its people.

And for years, we’ve had to report how those same journalists became political prisoners, jailed for the crime of telling the truth. The Aliyev regime’s repeated crackdowns have also targeted activists, academics, and any other dissidents who dared challenge the government line.

Our stories have also highlighted the considerable efforts Azerbaijan has taken to charm the world’s influencers, politicians, and diplomats, a topic to keep in mind as the congratulatory ceremonies kick off by the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Read on for OCCRP’s best investigative reporting on Azerbaijan — and on the regime that will be greeting the world’s distinguished guests in Baku.

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