The country’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev personally oversees the largest cash cow: the State Oil Fund. That may be why he considers Azerbaijan’s vast reserve of fossil fuels “ a gift from God ” even as it fails to uplift his people.

Leaders of the world's biggest economies must send a clear signal on the need to tackle global warming, COP29 climate summit host Azerbaijan said on Monday. The plea came as Group of 20 (G20) leaders

G20 communique in Rio contains key lines on climate confirming world set to transition away from fossil fuels. In keeping with previous Cop summits in authoritarian countries, authorities in Azerbaijan appear to have made some limited allowances for civil society interventions during the conference.

The G20 leaders' declaration reiterates the need for rapidly scaling up climate finance “from billions to trillions” without any specifics