BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. Climate finance needs to be increased under a new collective quantitative target to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, Special Envoy, Ambassador for Climate Affairs of Timor-Leste Adao Soares Barbosa said as he delivered her national statement at the COP29 summit today, Trend reports.
"Climate change is no longer an abstract threat to our world. It is a tangible reality affecting our lives and livelihoods. It has negatively impacted global socio-economic development and the resilience of ecosystems.
The greatest consequences are being felt by the least developed countries and small island developing states, which suffer the most despite contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions," Barbosa explained.
He emphasized that climate justice must be the foundation of global collective action.
According to him, Timor-Leste faces various consequences of climate change, such as flooding, droughts, landslides, and rising sea levels, reducing agricultural production, boosting food security threats, water shortages, infrastructure damage, loss of human lives, and migration.
"We must act decisively, guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Developing countries must take a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050," he pointed out.
The envoy also said that Timor-Leste is fully committed to a low-carbon development path, focusing on promoting renewable energy technologies and forest restoration.
Developed countries must fulfill their commitments to provide financial, technological, and capacity-building support to developing countries, particularly the least developed, to implement adaptation measures, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and address the issues of loss and damage, Barbosa 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 chairmanship 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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