Bulgaria withdraws its bid for COP29 in favor of Azerbaijan

Bulgaria has withdrawn its bid to host next year’s global climate summit, clearing the way for the conference to take place in Azerbaijan.

Bulgarian Environment Minister Julian Popov told POLITICO that the country was sending its letter of withdrawal on Friday evening, one day after Armenia gave up on its aspirations to host COP29 and backed Baku.

"In the spirit of goodwill and for the sake of a successful climate conference hosted by the Eastern European Group, the Republic of Bulgaria is hereby withdrawing its candidature for hosting COP29," a statement subsequently sent by the Bulgarian environment ministry said. "We therefore lend our support for the Republic of Azerbaijan’s candidature."

On Thursday, before the decision was announced, Popov told POLITICO in an interview: “Our position is that we care about the process. The moment we are convinced that if we withdraw the process will benefit, we will do that.”

Baku's bid still requires formal approval from other countries. But Azerbaijan is now the only remaining candidate to host COP29 — meaning the climate summit is likely heading to the country for two years in a row.