Energy embargo on Israel:will it be discussed at Cop29?

Ahead of COP29 in Baku, the organizations are calling for discussions on how to cut off Israel's energy supply to put an end to the war.

• The BDS movement, together with other organizations, is calling for COP 29 to talk about how to stop energy support for Israel.
• According to the UN Genocide Convention, states that provide material support to those who commit genocide are considered complicit.

In view of Cop29 in Baku, there is a call from various civil society organizations for the participating nations to mobilize to stop the humanitarian and environmental disaster in Palestine And stop energy support for Israel, thus putting an end to apartheid and illegal occupation.The catastrophe that strikes Gaza is of unprecedented proportions, with at least 45,000 deaths and irreparable damage to the territory:entire agricultural areas are destroyed, infrastructure is collapsing and the population survives in extreme conditions.

In particular, according to United Nations experts, the devastation by Israel he included “urbicide, scholasticide, medicode, cultural genocide and, more recently, ecocide”.From 7 October 2023, the day of the Hamas massacre, more than 76 percent of Gaza's agricultural land has been damaged or destroyed, there was extensive damage to soil, greenhouses, water wells, farms and animal shelters.Furthermore, the UN he said that the entire population of the northern Gaza Strip risks dying.

At COP 29, the energy embargo against Israel

The upcoming Cop29 in Baku represents an opportunity for denounce the complicity of countries like Azerbaijan, one of the largest importers of Israeli weapons, and support targeted actions such asenergy embargo.Activists and organizations – including the national committee of the Bds (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, the Global Energy Embargo for Palestine (Geep) and the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign – ask all countries involved during the COP to suspend energy supplies to Israel, while growing pressure is aimed at energy multinationals:among these stand out BP and Socar (the Azerbaijani public energy company), involved in the transportation of fossil fuels, in particular of gas flowing to Israel through the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

Meanwhile, other demonstrations calling for an energy embargo continue in Great Britain, South Africa, Turkey, the United States, Brazil and elsewhere.Numerous legal experts have warned that the transfer of products such as oil, which can be used in military vehicles (tanks, military jeeps and aircraft), makes states complicit in genocide, as they provide material support to the committing state.A recent analysis – conducted by Irene Pietropaoli, senior fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) – states theobligation to end to energy supplies to Israel in accordance with the UN Convention on Genocide.

In particular, organizations ask to mobilize on two specific dates during COP 29:on 11 November, the first day of the opening of the works, through an action to raise awareness of the role of Azerbaijan, and on 16 November.The actions, the organizers say, may be aimed not only at BP but also at complicit fossil fuel companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total Energies, which together supply 66 percent of Israel's oil. as well as Eni for its contracts for gas exploration in the Palestinian exclusive economic zone off the coast of Gaza.

The war on Gaza like 15 coal plants a year

CO2 emissions caused by bombings and the destruction of structures are another aspect of the crisis:the emissions generated so far they are equivalent to more than 15 coal plants operating in one year.In the first 120 days of the war alone, CO2 production exceeded the annual emissions of 26 countries combined.Subsequent reconstruction, when possible, will produce further devastating climate impacts.In all this, weapons such as white phosphorus (used intentionally in southern Lebanon, as demonstrates the attack directed to the Litani water transport system) contaminate the soil and the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank continues to aggravate the situation, despite the occupation having been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice.

The international context, however, remains inert, effectively allowing Israel to act with total impunity. The supply of energy resources, such as gas and coal, supports the Israeli economy and military operations.According to the organizations, Israel's dependence on Colombian coal and Azeri oil highlights the urgency of an energy blockade.Colombia itself, in response to a request from Palestinian organizations, has already suspended the transfer of coal to Israel, while activists across the Mediterranean have started campaigns such as #BlockTheBoat And No harbor for genocide to prevent energy and military supplies from reaching Israel.These demonstrations have already prevented a tanker carrying fuel for military jets and for a ship carrying explosives for Israel to dock in many ports in both Africa and Europe.