COP29 is a turning point in climate diplomacy - İlham Alİyev

As if racing against time, the COP Presidencies Troika established under the UAE consensus during COP28, brings together former, current, and future COP Presidencies - UAE (COP28), Azerbaijan (COP29), and Brazil (COP30) - to undertake ambitious, collective actions in the fight against climate change. 

This collaboration aims to maintain momentum in achieving key climate goals, with a special focus on the Roadmap to the Mission of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-1990 levels. 

COP29, held in Baku in November 2024, became a turning point in the climate diplomacy, as stated by the Azerbaijan Republic President Ilham Aliyev on his social media accounts. “The Baku session of COP will go down in history as one of the greatest COPs,” the President noted. According to him, special pride comes from getting appraisal of all guests with regard to the excellent organization of the COP29 which was attended by 80 heads of state and government and over 76 thousand registered participants. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan succeeded to deliver historic results in climate negotiations. 

The President further noted that throughout the entire process, we called for a result that took into account the needs of developing countries, particularly small island developing and least developed states, as they bear the brunt of climate change and face an existential threat. 

During the Baku session of COP, the Loss and Damage Fund was fully activated, along with the long-awaited full implementation of Article 6 on the carbon market under the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Article 6 provides for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints. Carbon markets are mechanisms that encourage emission reductions and incentivize businesses and governments to adopt more environmentally friendly production methods. 

“The parties agreed on tough standards for a centralised carbon market within the UN. There is still much work to be done, but this is a good start, the result of more than a decade of work,” Simon Steele, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said. 

The head of state drew attention to the breakthrough decision of the conference: “The most important achievement at COP in Baku was the landmark milestone - the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which sets a new global target of providing $300 billion annually to developing countries by 2035. This agreement will help developing countries in their fight against the negative impacts of climate change.”