COP29 President Babayev Advocates Focus On African Climate Needs At Upcoming Conference

The President of the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP29), Mukhtar Babayev, has said that on the forefront of the discussions that will take place at COP 29 will be the ways that the nations of the world can help African countries, along with other developing countries, to mitigate and adapt to new practices in the climate agenda.

Babayev said this in an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS, where he underscored the importance of addressing the vulnerability of these nations as they face the dual challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

He said, “We had the very good chance to visit different African countries all these months, and vulnerability of the country is a situation in the countries we faced, we have this information from them first hand. Our target is to bring all these discussions on at the COP29 to put the African countries’ needs on the forefront of the discussions. That’s why in Azerbaijan, in November, we will have very good chance to invite all the countries to think how to assist Africa and other countries, developing countries to move on this climate agenda, to perform their mitigation and adaptation process because now, in our target is also to dabble in the adaptation finance. We still need, I think, to provide this balance between the investment or finance for mitigation and adaptation.”

Babayev then revealed that a central theme of the upcoming COP29 will be the need to balance financial investment in mitigation and adaptation efforts as he said, “In Azerbaijan, I think we’ll have a lot of chances to discuss other priorities, but I think the financial issues like the new finance goal, also discussions on how to promote and to organise all the necessity conditions for Article Six approvals.

“I think it’s a good chance to bring the new sources of the finance of the private business to the carbon market, and I think these issues also will be on our agenda, but at the same time, it’s another one very important task for the country is how to make the operational loss and damage fund. I think it’s another one big task for the COP29 team. And very important also is how to make this access for finance more simple- the process of simplifying of the access of the recipients for the climate finance, it’s another one very big discussion platform in Azerbaijan.”

The Baku summit is expected to be a significant platform for advancing global climate ambitions and enhancing cooperation between developed and developing nations, as Babayev said, “I think the COP 29 in Azerbaijan, it’s another one chance for all the countries to come together to discuss the climate agenda. And also, I think the all other directions, all other problems in the world, it’s also a chance to discuss here in Baku, that’s why we will open the several platforms for the countries, for the parties, for international organisations to provide them with the necessity conditions to discuss all these issues, and Azerbaijan is ready to hold its leadership on these discussions.”

“In Baku and in the frame of preparation for COP29, Azerbaijan and COP 29 team, we call to all the countries to enable action, to enhance their ambition. And I think that this COP in Baku will give another chance for the countries to come to conclusion to enhance their ambition, and I think that the countries are very dedicated to have this agenda, to very seriously approach in these discussions. And we work very closely with all international organisations, financial institutes, MDBs, countries international organisations to bring all together. And I think in Baku, we have very good chance to agree regarding the new collective quantified goal,” he added.

Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi

Follow us on: