This study examines green rentierism, a strategy whereby hydrocarbon-dependent states exploit green rhetoric and climate finance to reinforce, rather than reform, their fossil fuel-based economies. Using Azerbaijan as a case study, I analyse 58 media articles published from 2020–2023 in sixteen most read news media in Azerbaijan to measure narrative construction via discourse analysis methodology. Findings reveal that Azerbaijani media during the study period followed ecological modernisation narrative in framing ecological issues. The research identifies several mechanisms (such as temporal delay, geographic displacement, selective silence on alternative narratives) that allow incumbents to secure international legitimacy while delaying decarbonization. The study concludes that green rentierism functions as a legitimacy shield, enabling hydrocarbon states to maintain existing rents with an ecological rhetoric.