One after another, Russia is blocking candidates from organizing the next climate summit

At the annual United Nations climate summit, governments must agree on how to prevent catastrophic climate change.

So far, they cannot agree on the location of next year’s conference.

Tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine have hampered the ability of diplomats meeting in the United Arab Emirates for this year’s summit, known as COP28, to find a venue for 2024.

Under UN rules, the location of the summit rotates between regions and countries within those regions must agree on the host.

Next year it will take place in Eastern Europe or the Caucasus, both of which have been ravaged by war. Russia has blocked almost every viable candidate in the region, effectively holding next year’s event hostage.

The latest standoff came on Friday when Azerbaijan received the blessing of neighboring country and old enemy Armenia to host the summit – only to be blocked by Russia hours later, according to European diplomats.

Observers called countries’ inability to select a host for next year a worrying sign for efforts to find global consensus on the far more serious issue of tackling climate change.

“Russia just wants to be a troublemaker in everything in the international context,” said Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. “I don’t remember a time when we couldn’t find a location for the next meeting.”

Although the next summit is still a year away, the choice of host country is made well in advance as it takes months of preparation to hold a productive summit. The current host, the UAE, began its work in 2021.

It is also logistically a challenge. The annual ‘conference of parties’, or COP, as it is commonly known, has become a spectacle in recent years, requiring facilities and infrastructure. This is the 28th year (i.e. COP28) and Dubai has more than 100,000 registered visitors.

Most Eastern European countries have strongly condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine and joined Western powers in imposing tough sanctions in response to the invasion. Russia, in turn, has used various UN forums, such as the COP, to hit back.

So far it has stopped Bulgaria, Slovenia and Moldova from hosting next year’s summit and is unlikely to endorse any country in the European Union.

When Azerbaijan threw its hat into the ring, it initially encountered opposition from neighboring Armenia, which itself submitted a bid. Turkey, which is not considered by the UN as part of the slate of countries expected to host next year’s climate talks, has also expressed willingness to host.

On Friday, following Armenia’s unexpected endorsement of Azerbaijan, it suddenly appeared that a consensus candidate had emerged.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office in Armenia said that as a goodwill measure to restore relations between the two warring countries, the country would release two Azerbaijani soldiers and endorse its bid to host COP29 in exchange for 32 of its own soldiers held by Azerbaijan. . Bulgaria was prepared to drop its bid. Azerbaijani diplomats congratulated each other.

But hours later on Friday, Russia vetoed Azerbaijan and the countries were back to square one.

Julian Popov, Bulgaria’s Environment Minister, called the situation “absurd.”

“You cannot have a position where one member can block the entire process,” Mr. Popov said.

If countries cannot agree on a host by 2024, the summit will default to Germany, according to UN climate body rules. It could also take place in the United Arab Emirates for a second year, but that seems unlikely. Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive who is chairing the summit and has drawn criticism from environmentalists, has indicated he is not keen to take up the mantle again, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

“This is a unique situation,” said Alden Meyer, a strategic advisor at E3G, an environmental research group, adding: “It’s amazing that we can make any progress on climate.”