Representatives from around the world will gather next week for the annual conference The United Nations climate conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. The meeting takes place in the shadow of the former president Donald Trumpthe return to the White House, which promises billion tons additional carbon pollution. If the United States is on a path toward increased dependence on fossil fuels, it is difficult to hope for an international consensus to end their use.

Doubts about the legitimacy of the conference were present from the start. For the second year in a row, the COP is taking place in a country whose economy depends on fossil fuel extraction, where dissent is criminalized and activists are regularly detained. Just like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan is taking advantage of a global meeting to green its image.

This year’s COP seems particularly cynical. Under the sign of the exploration of link between peace and climateAzerbaijan promised to use its platform as host to call for an unprecedented global ceasefire, a first in the history of climate conferences. Congratulating Trump on his victory, Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president for two decades, was proud emphasize the shared commitment of the two leaders to the promotion of international peace. For anyone following Azerbaijan’s human rights record, this clashes with common sense.

A little over a year ago, after nine months de facto blockade which left thousands of people deprived of access to food and medical assistanceAliyev’s regime launched a violent offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, a semi-autonomous region inhabited almost exclusively by ethnic Armenians. In a horrific incident of ethnic cleansing, more than 100,000 people– almost everyone who had never lived anywhere else – fled to Armenia with what they could carry.

Since regaining control of the area, Azerbaijani forces have launched a campaign targeting any traces of Armenian presence, destroying priceless cultural and heritage sites. More than a way to celebrate a decisive military victory, this destructive campaign helped pave the way for projects that will boost the country’s ecological credibility ahead of next week’s summit. Azerbaijan’s energy transition primarily focuses on transforming what remains of the depopulated enclave into a “Green Silicon Valley” backed by private investors from Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.

Anyone who opposes it in the country faces serious repercussions. Like the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan is a country where dissidents are regularly killed, attacked or imprisoned with complete impunity. THE CIVICUS Monitora collaborative research project that tracks civil liberties around the world, classifies Azerbaijan as “closed,” which is the worst rating. It has benefited from this ranking since the launch of the project in 2018.

Protests, including environmental demonstrations, are systematically deletedand critical civil society groups were dismantled. Independent media no longer operate in the country and dissenting voices have been silenced by trumped-up criminal charges, travel bans and frozen bank accounts.

Repression has intensified in recent years and can only get worse as COP29 approaches. Human rights groups say more than 300 political prisoners, including 23 journalists, are currently detained. Among those recently arrested is Anar Mammadli, a prominent pro-democracy activist. Mammadli was a co-initiator of the COP29 Climate Justice initiative, which sought to use the conference as a platform to draw attention to the country’s environmental and human rights issues.

While calling for peace, Azerbaijan is waging war against the very few independent voices remaining in the country and creating a climate of fear for activists across the region, where other countries are also imposing increasing restrictions. Azerbaijanis who speak at COP29 could be arrested after the international community leaves. Human Rights Watch found that the conference’s hosting agreement with Azerbaijan contains a arrangement outlining the duty to respect Azerbaijan’s laws and regulations and the duty “not to interfere in its internal affairs”, paving the way for prosecution of anyone who mentions Nagorno-Karabakh or Azerbaijan’s record in matters of human rights.

It seems possible to put aside Azerbaijan’s “internal affairs” for the greater good of pursuing global climate goals – after all, the country was chosen to host all countries in the region by consensus. including Armenia. Azerbaijan’s foreign policy chief certainly thinks so: he said that “overloading the COP agenda with issues that do not have a direct and immediate connection with climate change is not helpful but detrimental “. But preventing those who demand urgent action and more ambitious climate deals from participating closes the door to progress.

The only hope for climate action commensurate with the scale of the crisis is to open the doors to civil society. Civil society has continued to sound the alarm and raise public awareness of the need for climate action. It is the leading source of practical solutions, defends communities against destructive environmental impacts, resists extraction and promotes sustainability.

NGOs, opposition movements and activists can no longer be relegated to the margins of the decision-making process of authoritarian leaders.

Future COPs should be held in countries with civic space for strong national mobilization, and summit hosts should be held to high standards for national and international access and participation. This should be part of the deal the hosts make in exchange for the global prestige associated with hosting high-profile events. Greenwashing climate destruction, ethnic cleansing for peace, and the UN’s whitewashing of a culture of corruption and impunity cannot be the future of the COPs.

Tara Petrović leads research on Europe and Central Asia for the CIVICUS Monitor. She is a human rights lawyer and civil society activist based in Belgrade, Serbia..

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.