Georgina Rannard
Climate journalist in Baku

Image source, EPA

Everywhere in the capital, there are signs of the country’s pride in its history. From the iconic flame towers to a clock tower designed as part of an oil rig.

When I arrived in Baku, I took a free walking tour and the guide happily showed us black and white photographs from the oil boom years – huge plumes of oil and gushing flames. In the 1890s, she transformed the walled city into a wealthy city almost overnight, paying for majestic buildings that eventually stretched for miles into the desert.

On the waterfront, overlooking the gas-rich Caspian Sea, I saw a statue of the famous Azerbaijani opera singer Muslim Magomayev. His song “The Oil Tankers of the Caspian Sea” resonates on demand and rocks passers-by during a walk.

But it’s not just history: Azerbaijan wants to increase its natural gas production by a third over the next decade. It’s no wonder, then, that there is skepticism about the country’s commitment to combating climate change by reducing fossil fuels.

Can his presidency reach an agreement on solutions for our warming planet? We’ll be following every twist and turn, but it looks like it’s going to be a bumpy ride ahead.