UNEP Seeks Active Collaboration On Three Key Conventions - UN Official

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 21. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is committed to actively collaborating with colleagues across three major environmental conventions: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs), said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director and UN Deputy Secretary-General, at a high-level dialogue on "Enhancing knowledge exchange between conventions to ensure the sustainability of ecosystems" on the Rio-Trio Initiative (Colombia, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia) at COP29, Trend reports.

"We intend to work closely with our colleagues across the three conventions, supporting member states to ensure that the technical assistance provided at the national level is enhanced and coordinated. This will help create a transparent and improved reporting system. There is no need to duplicate data already recorded in biodiversity and climate reports.

The DaRT (Data Reporting Tool for Biodiversity Reporting) is an essential instrument for unified reporting on one platform. At UNEP, we must take on the task of integrating other conventions. We understand that national efforts must focus on actions, not reporting. Let's simplify this and make the process synchronized and non-fragmented. This is what the 'Rio Trio' offers, and I sincerely hope that these solutions will be reflected in each of the conventions to ease the reporting process for countries," she said.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest-level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 12–13.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 Presidency has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5°C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for“Conference of Parties” and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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