World Climate Conference

Schilling: “Should not use private cell phones”

Lena Schilling will travel to Baku next Monday - preparations are underway.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Schilling: AFP/Joe Klamar Klimagipfe: EPA)

In a separate briefing from the Foreign Ministry, Austria's participants at the World Climate Conference in Baku (Azerbaijan) had to be prepared for the conditions on site. They were warned of surveillance by the regime there and advised, among other things, to only use disposable cell phones. Politically, however, Green Party member Lena Schilling still has a lot of plans on the ground.

First Donald Trump's election victory and then the end of the German traffic light government. The 29th UN Climate Change Conference began on Monday in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, under difficult circumstances. Next Monday, just in time for the politically hot phase of the conference, the Green EU mandate holder Lena Schilling will arrive - albeit under difficult conditions.

Threat of surveillance
"We were informed in advance that even EU MPs are not allowed to communicate freely in Baku, as their cell phones and laptops could possibly be monitored by the regime," says the office of the young Greens with concern. Instead of good working conditions, which enable important debates on the future of our planet, participants would find a "threatening climate" on site.

The use of burner phones and disposable SIM cards is recommended, as is the use of virtual private networks (VPN). "It is even strongly discouraged to bring a personal cell phone and laptop," the Greens state. The red-white-red Greens were also explicitly warned in a separate briefing from the Foreign Ministry.

In future, climate conferences must no longer take place in corrupt oil states that trample on human rights and only want to use the conference to greenwash themselves on the international stage!

Lena Schilling

The situation is even more threatening for many activists. "Human rights organizations can't send their staff to the COP because they fear repression. No political stickers or symbols should be visible on laptops, bags or T-shirts," they criticize. This brings back memories for Green climate spokesperson Lukas Hammer, who will also be traveling to Baku. 

"Two years ago in Egypt, there was a massive presence of secret police on the grounds of the climate conference. When I wanted to document this, I was forced to delete the photos," he recalls. When he was explicitly asked to provide personal data in the run-up to the current conference, he refused.

For Lena Schilling, too, one thing was already clear before her arrival: "This year's climate conference is taking place in a country where 300 political prisoners are currently imprisoned, where there is no longer any critical civil society, as the corrupt oil regime has already ensured that many voices have been silenced in advance. With an escalating global climate crisis, we urgently need international solutions."

Politically, however, Schilling has big plans in Baku. The youngest member of the European Parliament, together with other MEPs, has sent a letter to the Azerbaijani government calling for a meeting with the political prisoners. There are currently at least 300 regime critics in political prison in Azerbaijan.