COP29 Host Azerbaijan Will Boost Gas Output By A Third

Azerbaijan, which is to host this year's UN climate talks, plans to increase its fossil fuel production by a third over the next decade, according to an analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian.

- Jillian Ambrose

The forecast indicates the Cop29 host will boost its annual gas production by about 12bn cubic metres (bcm) over the next 10 years, considered a crucial period in which world leaders must cut fossil fuel production if they hope to limit global heating.

Azerbaijan owns one of the world's largest gasfields, Shah Deniz in the Caspian Sea, and the country is expected to extract about 411 bcm of gas over the next 10 years, according to data sourced by the campaign group Global Witness from analysts at Rystad Energy. This would emit 781m tonnes of CO2, which is more than double the UK's annual carbon emissions.