Bravo, Azerbaijan! Congratulations!
Finally, the deal is done, and a breakthrough is made! Despite all the odds and dangers of making such a great effort hollow, a compromise has been struck today in Baku, keeping the global process on track and ensuring that all the parties are united and committed to addressing humanity’s most pressing issue.
The 29th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29), dubbed a Global Summit on Climate Change (in the framework of the UNFCCC) under the Chairmanship of Azerbaijan, was hosted in Baku from November 11 to 24, 2024. This truly global event had over 70,000 participants from all corners of the globe gathered to address the most pressing issues related to climate change.
The main topic and discussions were around mobilizing financial resources to deal with the multifaceted aspects of climate change – from slowing down global warming to mitigating the possible negative consequences and helping countries struck by climate calamities. As global warming is on the rise, the scale, complexity, and frequency of such calamities are growing, so the need for available resources to deal with them is also increasing. And this year’s estimates rose to trillions of USD to be able to address issues adequately. A huge challenge caused caution and doubt among many. Some even questioned whether the objective is realistic and doable, bearing in mind that the leaders of the world’s biggest polluters didn’t show up to prop up the agreement. Besides, there are populist leaders and scientists even negating the whole concept and approach, calling it a scam on a global scale.
Against such a backdrop, achieving a compromise consensus at the annual level of 300 billion USD until 2035, reflected in the ‘Baku Finance Goal’, can be viewed as a true breakthrough! More discussions will follow on how to distribute the share of contributors fairly.
So, through able stewardship, the Summit has been saved, and great efforts have been justified. It is clear now – politics, speculations, and everything related put aside – that the impact of the Baku Summit on the climate agenda will remain decisive and robust as it sets new goals and ensures commitments. Undoubtedly, the outcomes will be taken forward and followed by the global community.
What was also evident and vital was that the Baku event put the small and most vulnerable island countries of the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic at the centre of the climate agenda, emphasizing the need for their financial support and assistance.
Azerbaijan once again showed its leadership and responsibility in the global arena. Despite its small economy and minor CO2 emissions, its commitment to the green agenda, its voice, and its stance on the matter outweigh many global heavyweights. Azerbaijan remains true to its spirit of championing positive change and leads by example.
I want to congratulate the leadership, the national institutions of the country, a big army of volunteers, and all my co-patriots for the impeccable organization of the event, providing conditions, and steering it towards its successful conclusion. And, of course, providing second-to-none hospitality that the participants gratefully shared! It was indeed a great success!
For me, the most important takeaway was the degree of commitment of national authorities to the transitional green agenda across all sectors of the economy and social life – from energy to transport, mobility and connectivity, agriculture, tourism, urban development, public services, education, etc. It is an essential, integral part of the national development strategy embedded in the sectoral doctrines for the years to come.
I hope we can share these positive developments in the framework of the ODED-GUAM to benefit our nations and the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region undergoing fundamental transformations.
