BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. We must double the funding for adaptation and expedite the allocation of resources to address the damages caused by climate change, said Kenrick Williams, the country's Vice Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, as he delivered her national statement at the COP29 summit, Trend reports.
Williams noted that the climate crisis continues to have a devastating impact on vulnerable countries like Belize.
Natural disasters, such as Tropical Storm Laura and forest fires, have resulted in losses exceeding $200 million, representing more than 6 percent of the country’s GDP in the past two years.
“We need a doubling of adaptation financing, and we need to expedite the financing for loss and damage. Every moment of inaction causes harm to lives, ecosystems, and livelihoods. Investment in adaptation is not a luxury; it is a prerequisite for survival," he said.
The Vice Minister emphasized the importance of global participation in tackling the climate crisis, urging that all countries, including Taiwan, must join in the collective effort to ensure a sustainable future.
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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