BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 21. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) relies on close cooperation on the implementation of the Baku Water Dialogue, the Deputy Secretary General of WMO Ko Barrett said at the high-level launch event “Celebrating Water’s Lifeline for Climate, Nature, and People," Trend reports.
“WMO is honored to be part of this launch and to support the COP29 Chairmanship in developing the Baku Water Dialogue. We look forward to working closely together on its implementation, and it is impressive to see how fast this initiative is growing. We are optimistic about its further development. Assembled here at COP29, we recognize the vital role of water, the 'blood' of our planet, in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, supporting climate change mitigation, adaptation, and building resilience,” she said.
Barrett noted that freshwater resources are increasingly under pressure due to growing societal demands, environmental degradation, and changes caused by climate change.
“2023 was the driest year on record for rivers in the world in more than 30 years. Nearly half the planet experienced lower than normal annual river flows.
The world's glaciers lost the most mass in nearly 50 years of records, and this is a worrying sign for the future water security of billions of people. We are suffering longer droughts and many devastating floods, as previous speakers have mentioned. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and warmer oceans stimulate intense precipitation. Every small increase in temperature increases the risk of extreme precipitation,” 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.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel