Protesters call for energy embargo on 'Israel' at COP29 summit
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Protesters at the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan are calling for an energy embargo on "Israel", demanding the cessation of fossil fuel exports that fuel its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip.
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Environmental justice groups at COP29 in Azerbaijan demand a global energy embargo to end the genocide and liberate Palestine on November 11, 2024. (Social media)
During the COP29 conference in Baku on Wednesday, Shady Khalil of the Oil Change International foundation, took a bold stand, addressing the critical role fossil fuels play in fueling the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
He called for an energy embargo as a necessary measure to bring an end to the violence, emphasizing the need to sever the flow of resources that enable the oppression and destruction in the region.
Shady Khalil from Oil Change International speaks out at COP29 highlighting the role of fossil fuels in the genocide in Palestine, and the need for an energy embargo to bring it to an end. #COP29Azerbaijan pic.twitter.com/wimAT5HP9F
— Global Energy Embargo for Palestine (@palenembargo) November 13, 2024
The conference was met with widespread pro-Palestinian protests on Thursday, where demonstrators called for an energy embargo on "Israel"—a key exporter of gas and importer of coal and oil. Their aim was clear: to cut off the flow of gasoline to the Israeli occupation military, thereby reducing its capacity to fuel operations. The protesters highlighted the crucial link between fossil fuels and military aggression, urging global leaders to take a stand by halting energy supplies that sustain the war.
The movements primarily target countries like South Africa and Turkiye, which are aligned with the Palestinian cause but maintain trade relations with "Israel".
To date, Colombia is the only nation that has implemented a measure similar to what the movements have called for, having ceased coal exports to "Israel" for the past year.
A demonstration in solidarity with Palestine at #COP29 just now
— Lauren Boland (@laurenanna_1) November 14, 2024
“We need to speak. No silence. No silence. We need to speak.”@thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/LNC6yhsMip
After the COP29 conference kicked off on Monday, dozens of protesters gathered in Baku, voicing opposition to "Israel".
Many of the climate activists at the conference, some wearing the traditional Palestinian Koufiyyeh scarf, held up banners demanding climate justice and urging countries to “stop fueling genocide.”
“All these struggles are intersectional,” says Lise Masson, a protester from Friends of the Earth International, adding that “it’s the same systems of oppression and discrimination that are putting people on the frontlines of climate change and putting people on the front lines of conflict in Palestine.”
She criticized the United States, the UK, and the EU for failing to allocate more funds for climate finance while continuing to supply arms to "Israel".
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) began on November 11 in the Azerbaijani capital, with the goal of addressing growing climate issues.
