A TBI spokesperson said: “We are not currently engaged by the Azerbaijani government for COP29, but we have always said we are happy to assist governments working on COP. »
“Nothing to do with the COP”
To fund TBI’s work around the world, Blair has received donations from some of the world’s largest philanthropies, including recently $375 million from American tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s foundation. TBI has significantly expanded its climate offerings in recent years, seeking to influence and advise heads of state and key ministers around the world.
TBI’s work on global issues such as climate change and public health helped Blair reform his international image, which had become that of a diplomatic mercenary.. Since leaving British politics in 2007 and before starting TBI, Blair has worked for several governments, including lobbying the Chinese government on behalf of PetroSaudi, a fossil fuel company owned by a Saudi prince.
He established particularly close relations with the autocratic government of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. Last year, the Azerbaijani government was accused of ethnic cleansing of Armenians living in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In 2014, Blair was hired as an advisor to a BP-led consortium that sought to build a pipeline connecting Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea gas fields to southern Italy. He reportedly lobbied the Italian government for the project in 2018.
The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), as the pipeline is called, was seen by climate advocates as a trap that would encourage Europe to use natural gas for longer than necessary. Shortly after it went live in 2020, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. For many supporters of the project, this justified their support. The European Commission recently called it a “crucial route to diversifying gas supplies for the EU”. Last year, Azerbaijan supplied around 3 percent of the EU’s total gas imports.
Aliyev agreed to double Azerbaijan’s supplies to the EU. Last month, according to state media, he warned that “general anti-fossil fuel trends” should not stop European banks from financing the pipeline’s expansion. The European Investment Bank, which has nearly 1 billion euros in outstanding loans with the SGC, told POLITICO it would no longer support such projects due to their impact on the climate.
“The project was an essential part of meeting Europe’s gas needs from sources other than Russia,” the TBI spokesperson said. “This has nothing to do with the work of the COP. And we emphasize that, in any case, Europe will need gas for many years to come, even if all climate commitments are respected.”
Politices
