A view of the Azerbaijani capital Baku. Climate change: UN calls on COP29 participants in Baku to seek agreement on key issues Climate and environment
The international community must agree on climate finance targets that are commensurate with the scale of the challenges developing countries face to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned in Baku, where the UN Climate Conference will take place next month.
Difficult negotiations
The preparatory meeting for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-29) opened in the capital of Azerbaijan on Thursday. The conference itself starts on November 11. It is planned that important documents will be adopted following the forum, including those related to financing measures to combat climate change. However, difficult negotiations are still ongoing. “I welcome all the hard work that has been done to date,” Mohammed said.
Progress Achieved
She recalled that collective efforts are bearing fruit: at the time of signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world was on track for warming by four degrees Celsius, and by COP28 in Dubai last year, according to a UN report, we were talking about a figure between 2.1 and 2.8 degrees.
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“Last year at COP28, you committed to making 1.5 degrees a reality in your next NDCs (nationally determined contributions) and recognized that the transition away from fossil fuels must accelerate in this crucial decade,” the UN Deputy Secretary-General noted.
She also recalled that at the Future Summit last month, world leaders from the Global North and South came together to agree on steps to begin reforming the international financial architecture. “COP29 participants must build on this momentum,” she urged.
Finding Common Ground
We can only achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement if every country has the means to accelerate action on climate change mitigation and adaptation, Mohammed added.
“I heard from you about your willingness to find common ground on key elements, building on our shared commitment to keeping 1.5 degrees within reach and ensuring a climate-resilient future,” she said.
Carbon Markets
The UN deputy chief also called for an agreement in Baku on carbon markets “with a high degree of credibility and rules consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
Carbon markets are trading systems in which emissions rights are bought and sold. This is a market-based approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, according to Mohammed, each country must demonstrate in its national contributions its intention to abandon fossil fuels in line with the outcome of COP 28.
Double Down
“In today’s tense and divided world, we must redouble our collective efforts to keep the 1.5 degree goal within reach and protect those on the front lines of the climate crisis. And we must ensure fairness and equality,” Amina Mohammed concluded her speech.