Azerbaijan champions sustainability at COP29

Azerbaijan is gearing up to host the highly anticipated 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) from 11 to 24 November this year. The country's vision for COP29 is centered around two key pillars - enhancing ambition and enabling action. Yalcin Rafiyev, the COP29 Lead Negotiator, outlined Azerbaijan's priorities and expectations for the upcoming event in a recent interview. One of the key goals for COP29 is for parties to provide ambitious indices by February 2025, establish national adaptation plans, and submit biannual transparency reports. Additionally, Azerbaijan is pushing for the adoption of a decision called the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to ensure that developing countries, especially in Africa, receive the necessary funding to support their climate initiatives. The operationalization of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which focuses on carbon markets, is another crucial aspect of Azerbaijan's vision for COP29. This move is expected to open up new avenues for developing countries to access funding for local climate projects. African states are at the forefront of Azerbaijan's COP29 agenda, given their low contribution to global emissions and limited access to climate finance. Despite accounting for less than 4% of global emissions, African countries only receive 3% of climate finance, highlighting the need for increased support and funding. The interview with Yalcin Rafiyev delved into the challenges around climate finance accessibility for African nations. While negotiations are ongoing to secure funding through multilateral development banks, there is a need to address the delays in accessing funds for climate-related disasters. The private sector also plays a crucial role in financing climate projects. However, there is a perception of risk associated with investing in developing countries, particularly in Africa. To combat these misconceptions, Azerbaijan is working to engage with the private sector and promote investment in African countries by organizing forums and addressing risk mitigation strategies. Rafiyev emphasized the importance of diversifying investment flows to developing nations and dispelling the myths surrounding investment risks in Africa. As COP29 approaches, stakeholders are urged to focus on discussions around partnerships, ambitious national determined contributions, and the implementation of decisions from previous COPs. The event is framed as a 'finance COP' with an emphasis on enabling developing countries to finance their climate actions and meet the 1.5-degree target. COP29 aims to foster cooperation, build new partnerships, and exchange best practices to tackle the global climate challenges effectively. With preparations for COP29 well underway, Azerbaijan is poised to champion sustainability and lead discussions on enhancing ambition and enabling action to combat climate change.