COP29 Brings Focus On Azerbaijan’s Pollution Of The Caspian Sea [Video]

Azerbaijan is hosting COP29, the UN climate conference, drawing criticism from some who point to the country’s huge oil industry and poor record of pollution — and not far from the host city, Baku, RFE/RL filmed video of untreated waste gushing into the Caspian Sea. The waste includes toxic water used in oil production, which has been linked to fish and seal deaths in the sea. One Azerbaijani opposition leader told us that money to improve sewage treatment has been diverted to pay for the rebuilding of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan retook from Armenian control in 2020.

As the annual UN climate conference (COP29) takes place in Baku, RFE/RL presents exclusive coverage of environmental issues that are often underreported from regions that are often overlooked.