Former British prime minister Tony Blair’s non-profit organization is advising controversial COP29 host Azerbaijan at this month’s climate talks, according to participant registration data for the conference.
Newly-released U.N. data shows that no fewer than 12 advisers from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, where Blair is an unpaid executive chairman, are listed as members of Azerbaijan’s national delegation to the climate conference in Baku as part of a paid contract with the hosts.
Yesterday, a post on X from the official COP29 Azerbaijan account showed a meeting between Blair and the climate conference’s president-designate, Azerbaijani Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev, to discuss climate action.
It marked the first day of climate talks that will run until November 22 amid controversy surrounding the conference’s choice of host. Azerbaijan’s hardline regime has jailed at least one prominent climate activist and has repeatedly cracked down on human rights defenders, academics, and other dissidents who dared to challenge the government line.
Politico reported earlier this year that the Tony Blair Institute had approached the Azerbaijan government about supporting the country at COP29. A spokesperson for the institute did not deny the claim, but said the organization was not working with the hosts at that time.
Major consultancies have long competed for the opportunity to advise organizers of the annual U.N. climate talks, with the consulting giant McKinsey & Company reportedly helping last year’s COP28 host, the United Arab Emirates.
The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change confirmed to OCCRP that it was offering "strategic and policy insights for COP29," and said it was "committed to advancing the global climate agenda."
"[T]here is an urgent need to shift climate strategies to address global emissions," a spokesperson for the institute said.
The Azerbaijan COP29 Presidency team declined to comment.
Blair was U.K. prime minister between 1997 and 2007. After leaving public office, he reportedly made millions through for-profit consultancy work for governments. Since 2016, his efforts have been focused on non-profit work through his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. The think tank now generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue, boasting almost a thousand staff members across over 40 countries who provide strategic advice to political leaders.
Blair’s NGO has previously come under criticism for advising regimes with poor human rights records, including working with Saudi Arabia after its alleged role in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
In an interview with the Financial Times last December, Blair responded to criticism of the Saudi Arabia partnership, insisting that his organization does occasionally turn down business. “We have said no and we’ve pulled out of places,” Blair told the newspaper. “I won’t say where, but we have left places when we decided they weren’t going in the right direction.”
UPDATE: This story was updated shortly after publication to include a comment from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
