Fossil of the Day awards at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan

The Fossil of the day Daily count for COP29. The best of the worst....

Day	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Mention	Ray of the COP
Nov15	G7: United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom
Nov 16	Italy
Nov 18
Nov 19
Nov 20
Nov 21
Nov 22
Colossal Fossil

The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), nominate and vote for countries judged to have done their ‘best’ to block progress in the negotiations in the talks, or in a wider context for actions in their own country at odds with implementing climate action n alignment with the Paris Agreement and its targets..

Below are the CAN International Medias Releases for all the Fossil Awards, available

Fossil of the Day award of COP29 presented to Italy  - 16 November 2024

Today’s Fossil of the Day goes to a country with a colonial legacy it seems reluctant to leave behind. Pushing fossil fuel expansion beyond their shores and into Africa, through their state-controlled company – Eni.

Today Italy has been awarded the infamous Fossil for being ranked the second largest importers of gas in Europe (2023) and for its special relationship with the COP29 host, Azerbaijan. The two countries trade fossil fuels like Pokemon cards, with Azerbaijan being Italy’s second largest fossil gas supplier. When Italy’s barrels are empty, the first number on their speed dial is Azerbaijan – purchasing 57% of Azerbaijan’s total oil exports.

In recent years this special friendship has blossomed, with Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Italy increasing from 11 million cubic metres in 2020 to 10 BILLION in 2023, thanks to the Trans Adriatic pipeline. That’s almost a thousand-fold increase!

It was even rumoured that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended the signing of a fossil gas deal between Italgas and SOCAR (State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic) on day two of COP29. Their special friendship is shared across Italy’s fossil fuel companies with Azerbaijani COP29 party invites handed to Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi.

Meloni seems to be stuck in Roman times, believing that “currently there is no single alternative to fossil fuel supply.” Did she not do her homework, or at least follow COP28? Countries across the world are already transitioning to renewable energy. Italy needs to get with the times or risk being left behind in the oil age.

First Fossil of the Day award of COP29 to the G7

The first Fossil of the Day at COP29 in Baku has been collectively awarded to the countries of the Group of Seven: United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The G7 have received the award for spending the past 20 years dodging, skirting, and running away from their fiscal responsibility to pay up for their growing climate finance debt. 

The G7 countries think they can hide behind each other but civil society sees right through their strategy. They have come to COP29 without putting forward any proposed figure for the Climate Finance Goal (NCQG). While these countries may not be a voting bloc in these halls, they have certainly been able to BLOCK progress here. This exclusive club, whose members are among the top 10 historical emitters, wants everyone else to have equal responsibility for fixing the climate crisis they majorly contributed to – where is the accountability for their actions? 

Just the other day, the US was pushing forward an ‘onion approach’ to finance, sneaking in profits for its friends through private finance, within ‘multiple layers of investments’, when public finance is what’s needed – and available – for the climate finance goal. 

Even with the increasing impacts of climate change coming to their shores doesn’t seem to make the G7 countries realise what is needed. Halfway through the critical decade of climate action (2020-30), the G7 is still standing in the way of delivering much-needed progress to meet the 1.5ºC goal and prevent us from joining the dinosaurs and becoming extinct. Meanwhile, Japan has to reduce their emissions by 81% by 2035 from 2013 levels to be in line with the Paris 1.5ºC goal.

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References

CAN Fossil of the Day COP29 media Releases https://climatenetwork.org/updates-event-portal-cop-28-fossil-of-the-day-at-cop28/