Global South’s Energy Rebellion at COP29 Signals a New Future

Physical world map. CIA World Factbook, Public Domain

Commentary

The climate movement’s annual showpiece, the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP), held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan, was exposed to an unprecedented level of disinterest—even dissent—from developing nations.

Leaders of some of the world’s most resource-rich, economically aspiring countries opted to sit this one out, sending only low-level delegates, if any. This is the latest signal of a growing resistance to an anti-fossil fuel gospel advanced by the United Nations.

Last year’s COP28 in the Middle East, where oil wealth underpins entire economies, forced the climate community to confront its contradictions. COP29 in central Asia continued this reckoning, presaging the demise of an unscientific and anti-developmental policy framework wrecking global economies.

African, Latin American Leaders Question Fossil Fuel Bans

The tone of COP29 itself was a marked departure from prior gatherings. In Azerbaijan, where oil and gas production are integral to the national economy, the summit’s host, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, called fossil fuels “a gift from God,” lauding their contribution to global prosperity and stability.

Fossil fuels have moved from being a taboo “elephant in the room” to a subject of open discussion at these gatherings. The leaders of countries in Africa and Latin America are freely questioning the premise of banning their use of fossil fuels while much of the developed world continues to consume record amounts of coal, oil, and natural gas. The notion that high-income nations can dictate the energy agenda is seen as a remnant of a power structure that primarily serves the interests of the world’s most privileged.

The International Energy Agency projects that developing countries will see substantial growth in energy demand over the next decade, an expansion that cannot be met by renewables. Leaders in these regions understand that hydrocarbons are critical to achieving their development goals.

Global South Looks to National Interest Over Climate Ideals

In a surprising move, Argentina’s newly elected president, Javier Gerardo Milei, withdrew his country’s 80-person delegation from Baku less than a third of the way into the 11-day COP29. He cited the need for pragmatic energy policies that encourage development rather than stymie it.

For Milei, whose presidential campaign was based on a pro-business, anti-bureaucracy platform, the message is clear: Policy must serve the economic needs of his country first. Argentina’s ongoing energy crisis, its untapped shale gas reserves, and a crippling economic situation demand a level-headed approach that prioritizes national interests over global climate ideals that are both batty and corrupt.

Milei’s political philosophy resonates with a growing number of leaders in the global south who view economic growth as paramount and recognize that access to energy is fundamental to achieving it.

Argentina’s departure from COP29 is a turning point that should serve as a wake-up call to the United Nations and its allies. The time for one-size-fits-all mandates is over. The rigid orthodoxy of fossil fuel divestment pushed by the United Nations and wealthy nations is losing ground, challenged by leaders who refuse to sacrifice their national interests to a destructive agenda.

For much of the global south, the idea of an immediate energy transition remains, at best, aspirational and, at worst, profoundly out of touch. The reality is that fossil fuels still power 80 percent of global energy consumption. This isn’t just an inconvenient truth; it’s an inescapable basis of modern civilization that developing nations understand viscerally.

The COP29 circus has concluded in Baku, and the world is seeing the crumbling of the long-held illusion that a global transition to green energy is feasible, much less fair and desirable. Developing nations are proclaiming that they will not be deprived of necessary energy sources by nations that continue to feast on the very fossil fuels they frown upon. The disconnect between rhetoric and reality is stark, and developing countries are calling attention to it.

Fossil fuels are not a relic of the past; for many countries, they are the key to a prosperous future—truly “a gift from God.”

From RealClearWire

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.