BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. It is a great honor for me to express gratitude to Azerbaijan for humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine in this difficult time, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine Svitlana Grynchuk said as she delivered her national statement at the COP29 summit, Trend reports.
The minister also emphasized that Ukraine continues to work on its nationally determined contribution to the Paris Agreement and plans to submit it on time next year. Ukraine will also present its investment plan, which will include measures for the country's green recovery.
“The greenhouse gas absorption potential of Ukrainian forests has decreased by 1.7 million tons of CO2. Nature knows no boundaries, and this will affect neighboring countries and the global food chain,” Svitlana Hrynchuk added.
According to her, Ukraine has planned to plant more than 100 million trees within three years as part of the program on greening and reforestation. At the moment, 17 bog ecosystems are under threat; their unique biological diversity is protected by the Ramsar Convention.
“Ukraine is committed to the global climate agenda and has already committed to achieving zero emissions by 2050. This will require significant efforts from both the private sector and the government,” 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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