BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. Andorra stands committed to climate action and transparency, the country's Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Transport, and Mobility David Massoni said in the national statement at the COP29 summit today, Trend reports.
He pointed out that despite its small size, Andorra is highly active in the fight against climate change and holds a leading position in transparency issues.
"It became the first country to submit and complete a two-year transparency report under the Paris Agreement. This step not only highlights our commitment but also our responsibility to the global community," Massoni explained.
He mentioned that Andorra supported the Declaration on Global Climate Transparency presented at the COP29 summit and urged other countries to follow suit.
"Andorra has raised its ambitions for emissions reduction by 2035. The goal is to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, in line with the Paris Agreement commitments," the official also said.
Massoni emphasized that, as a mountainous country, Andorra is particularly vulnerable to climate change.
"The average temperature in the Pyrenees has increased by two degrees since 1959, and last winter was the warmest on record, which is already impacting the tourism sector, especially the ski industry," he added.
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.