site.btaBelarus to Block Sofia's Bid to Host COP 29 in 2024

The government of Belarus has stated that it will block Bulgaria from hosting the 29th UN annual Climate Change Conference (COP 29) that is scheduled for 2024, Environment Minister Julian Popov said in a Facebook post Tuesday. Bulgaria was a leading candidate to host the Conference.

Popov said that the blocking by Belarus was initiated by Russia: "By virtue of a rule left over from before the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the Eastern European group at the UN had to come up with a consensus decision. However, Russia decided to block Bulgaria". The Minister called this completely unjustified.

Popov is confident however that Bulgaria will play an important role both during this year's COP 28 in Dubai and during next year's COP 29, no matter which the host country is.

In April, Russia's delegation to the UN climate body, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, sent an email to other representatives of Eastern European countries saying it would not support an EU host, Reuters reported several months ago.

COP 28 will take place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12.