Cop29 is held in an enormous complex centred around the Baku Olympic Stadium. Security at the event is tight. Police are everywhere, along with hundreds of soldiers in military uniform. 

Menacing guards dressed head to toe in black and carrying large assault rifles are stationed around the perimeter of the venue. I have lost count of the number of times my bag has been through metal detectors and scanners.

Inside the conference, hordes of delegates roam between the negotiating rooms and the bewildering array of meetings, workshops, and side events. I struggle to make sense of the negotiating process in Cop and the complex frameworks for reaching decisions between the diverse negotiating groups involved. 

Cop even seems to have its own language. I am introduced to new terms like Blue Zone, Green Zone, Party Overflow, NCQG (New Collective Quantified Goal), along with hundreds of acronyms representing the names of organisations and lobbying groups at the conference.

The overall mood at Cop29 is tense. Negotiators are under extreme pressure to reach a convincing conclusion to the climate talks amid diplomatic rows and controversies. The conference is interspersed with protests, mostly focused on ending fossil fuels. 

However, the one that will stick out in my memory was a peace protest for Gaza. The protest consisted of a young lady with a microphone reading out the names and ages of children killed in the conflict to date. The printed list was so long that it required seven people to hold up the huge roll of paper and feed it to her.

Around Baku, Azerbaijan’s gas and oil wealth is evident. The horizon is dotted with impressive skyscrapers designed as great curving, twisting sculptures of steel and glass. Busy motorways run through every part of the city. The cars here are massive, even for someone accustomed to Ireland’s SUV-filled roads. 

Petrol and diesel sell for around €0.50/litre. Outside the spectacular Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre near my hotel there is a car park with around 20 electric vehicle chargers, all lying vacant. I have yet to see a solar panel in the city.

The local Azerbaijanis I have met are friendly and welcoming. U2, Guinness, and Irish coffee have all come up in conversation when I reveal my nationality. The younger male staff in the hotel tell me that they are fans of Conor McGregor. 

The Azerbaijani news this week reports receding sea levels and dying fish in the nearby Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water. Meanwhile delegates from small island countries and low-lying coastal nations present evidence of communities already being overwhelmed by rising ocean levels, stark reminders of what is at stake at Cop.

It remains to be seen whether the final negotiations this week can produce a convincing outcome and what Cop29’s legacy will be. 

Many are pessimistic about the prospects of a strong and legally binding commitment to financing global climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

However, we have a moral duty to remain hopeful, even in the face of what appear to be impossible challenges. Despair is unethical, since it guarantees that we face climate catastrophe.

• Dr Barry Hayes is an Associate Professor in Power Systems Engineering at UCC and a Funded Investigator at the MaREI Research Centre for Energy, Climate, and Marine