Representatives of the Taliban terrorist organization ruling Afghanistan landed in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday to attend COP29, the annual United Nations climate alarmism summit, where environmentalists are agitating to secure up to $1 trillion in “climate finance.”
The event will be the first of its kind that the Taliban is invited to as the official representative body of the government of Afghanistan. Taliban terrorists seized control of the country in August 2021 after the collapse of the U.S.-backed government there, triggered by now-outgoing American President Joe Biden’s decision to violate an agreement with both the government and the Taliban to withdraw American forces by May 1 of that year.
While the Taliban have ruled as the uncontested government authority of Afghanistan since August 15, 2021, no country has officially recognized it as the ruling entity of Afghanistan. The United Nations continues to recognize diplomats representing the U.S.-backed government that no longer exists. Many nations – most prominently China and Iran – have accepted the Taliban as the “interim” government of the country, suggesting it is a transient entity without evidence the Taliban intend to hold elections or vacate power at any time.
The Taliban’s “National Environmental Protection Agency” (NEPA) confirmed on Sunday that its general director and a delegation had begun their trip to Baku for the annual climate conference. The Afghan outlet Ariana News suggested that, since the United Nations does not yet recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, the jihadists would not be full participants at the event but, rather, “observers.” The outlet also noted that the Taliban had previously attempted repeatedly to attend Conference of Parties (COP) climate summits in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but those countries did not offer invitations.
“Climate change is a humanitarian subject,” Zainulabedin Abid, an official with the Taliban NEPA, was quoted as saying. “We have called on the international community not to relate climate change matters with politics.”
“Since the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, this is the first time we have been invited to such a conference,” Matiul Haq Khalis, the head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), told the Afghan outlet Tolo News. “We aim to share the extent of Afghanistan’s climate impacts and related challenges in various formats during this conference. This is an opportunity to strengthen our relations.”
Since the early days of the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, jihadist leaders have dubiously insisted they consider the fight against the alleged climate crisis a policy priority.
“We believe the world has a unique opportunity of rapprochement and coming together to tackle the challenges not only facing us but the entire humanity,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi, now a Taliban “foreign ministry” spokesman, said at the time, “and these challenges ranging from world security and climate change need the collective efforts of all.”
On Monday, another Taliban terrorist, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, held a separate event in Kabul to coincide with the first day of COP29 titled, “From Isolation to Inclusion – Afghanistan’s Urgent Call for Climate Action” in which he declared the Taliban is seeking money from the world to be used to allegedly fight climate change.
“Our demand from the United Nations, the great powers, the rich countries and the countries from which gasses come is to help us improve our environment and serve our people,” Stanikzai told the conference.
The COP events are typically a controversial affair in the climate alarmism community, as many of its members consider the event a form of “greenwashing” – a platform for governments to pretend to care about the issue while taking no meaningful action. COP29 is expected to attract representatives from 198 countries. As of Monday, over 50,000 people have flown into Baku to attend the event, dramatically increasing greenhouse gas emissions through their flights.
Environmental activists have condemned the choice of Azerbaijan as a host country given its economic dependence on fossil fuels. Baku’s government, a report published in October denounced, “has weakened its climate target [and] the country is doubling down on fossil fuel extraction.” The country is particularly dependent on natural gas and has planned a dramatic increase in natural gas production in the next decade to meet demand from the European Union.
The controversy over Azerbaijan’s host duties echoes similar outrage for COP28, the 2023 edition of the summit hosted by the UAE in Dubai. The UAE is one of the world’s wealthiest oil powers and gave the responsibility of organizing the summit to Sultan Al Jaber, president of the state oil company Adnoc. Sultan Al Jaber repeatedly condemned environmental extremists throughout his presidency of COP28.
“I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C,” he said in December.
The COP28 conference resulted in no meaningful commitments to radical climate activist policies, disappointing left-wing environmental groups.
