(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The COP29 GeneralHeadquarters hosted the first press conference regarding the 29thsession of the Conference of the Parties to the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change to be held in November 2024 inAzerbaijan, Trend reports.
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 Lead Negotiator YalchinRafiyev, COP29 CEO Elnur Soltanov, COP29 Operating Company Chairmanand CEO Narmin Jarchalova, UN High-Level Climate Champion NigarArpadarai, and COP29 Youth Climate Champion for Azerbaijan LeylaHasanova have spoken at the event.
Speaking about the preparation for the conference, Babayev notedthat hosting COP29 in the country is a manifestation of theinternational community's trust in the national and internationalpolicies pursued under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, aswell as Azerbaijan's efforts to contribute to addressing climatechange.
Emphasizing that Azerbaijan assumed the presidency of COP29 withunanimous support from the world's countries, Babayev said thatduring its presidency at the conference, Azerbaijan willdemonstrate continuous activity towards strengthening globalsolidarity on climate change issues.
Highlighting that the green transition is among Azerbaijan'snational priorities, Babayev also mentioned that the country hasjoined the Global Methane Pledge initiative, which involvesvoluntary commitments by states to reduce methane emissions intothe environment.
He stated that the goal is to increase the share of renewableenergy sources in installed electricity capacity to 30 percent by2030.
Additionally, according to him, Azerbaijan aims to reducegreenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent by 2030 and by 40 percent by2050 compared to the baseline in 1990.
"Today, Azerbaijan, as part of the world, is facing theconsequences of climate change," said Babayev, emphasizing issuessuch as the reduction of water levels in rivers and the Caspian Seaand desertification.
The agenda for negotiations on the expected outcome documents ofCOP29 was also clarified during the press conference.
Yalchin Rafiyev, the head of the negotiating group and DeputyForeign Minister of Azerbaijan, stated that Azerbaijan approachesthe negotiation process within the mandate of hosting COP29 fromthe perspective of transparency, inclusiveness, and neutralitytowards all participating parties.
"Key topics of the COP29 negotiations, including climatefinance, are being extensively discussed with all parties. Activework is underway to find possible solutions for the successfulconclusion of negotiations," noted Rafiyev.
The Executive Director of COP29, Elnur Soltanov, highlightedthat this event will serve as a platform for broad discussions andactions to accelerate the transition to green energy, expressingconfidence that new opportunities will emerge in terms offulfilling Azerbaijan's commitments in this direction.
"Azerbaijan's role will not be limited to just hosting theevent, and our country will also lead the negotiations at theconference. In this sense, Baku will be in the spotlight of theworld in November," noted Soltanov.
The Chairperson of the COP29 Operational Company's Board ofDirectors and Chief Operating Officer, Narmin Jarchalova, pointedout that although various international events have been held inAzerbaijan before, COP29 will be the largest event in terms of thenumber of participants and scale. The Baku Olympic Stadium has beenchosen as the venue for the event.
"The decision on the venue for COP29 was made afterconsultations with the UN and taking into account the experience ofprevious COP events. During large-scale events held to date at thisvenue, efficient use and sustainability of the infrastructure havebeen fully ensured. The Blue and Green Zones, which will beorganized at the stadium during COP29, are being prepared incoordination with the organizers' team. Structures will beinstalled around the stadium to organize all plenary sessions ofthe conference in one space," noted Jarchalova.
The press conference also addressed the issue of hotelsaccommodating guests, emphasizing that all accommodation optionswill be available on a unified international platform in the nearfuture.
Speaking about the participation of civil society and theprivate sector in COP29, UN Climate Change High-Level ChampionNigar Arpadarai emphasized the importance of their involvement indiscussions and decision-making.
COP29 Youth Climate Champion for Azerbaijan Leyla Hasanova saidthat youth-related activities play an important role at theConference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on ClimateChange, highlighting the importance of existing practices andglobal projects in this field.
She informed the media about the expansion of such areas asyouth development and knowledge exchange, activities aimed atinvolving youth in global processes.
The press conference hosted the public presentation of the COP29logo.
The logo reflects a complex of multi-dimensional initiatives ofthe COP29 presidency, combining symbols of a buta, a leaf, andwater drops as a reference to environmental sensitivity in thecontext of the importance of natural resources and Azerbaijan'srich cultural heritage.
The motif of the buta, rooted in Azerbaijan's historical andcultural heritage, symbolizes not only sustainability andinnovation but also a bridge between the past and the future, aswell as five different elements: flora and fauna, air and wind,water, energy, and the universe.
The logo reflects the importance of a continuous connectionbetween humanity and the environment, an environmentally sensitiveapproach, and result-oriented actions in the era of growing climatechallenges.
This November, Azerbaijan will host COP29. This decision wasmade at the COP28 plenary meeting held in Dubai on December 11 lastyear. Baku will become the center of the world and will receiveabout 70–80,000 foreign guests.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is anagreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system COP-the Conference of the Parties-is the highest legislativebody overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention onClimate Change. There are 198 countries that are parties to theConvention. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the COP is heldannually. The first COP event took place in March 1995 in Berlin,and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
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