BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 11. COP29 offers a critical chance to fix our progress and maintain our 1.5 degree target, Senior Advisor to the US President for International Climate Policy John Podesta, said during a briefing at COP29 in Baku today, Trend reports.
"We are at COP29 to continue our collaboration with our global partners and other stakeholders. COP29 is a crucial opportunity to solidify our progress and keep 1.5 degrees alive, accelerate progress in reducing all greenhouse gases, and perhaps most importantly, strengthen global cooperation in adaptation and climate finance. We are here to work, and we are committed to achieving a successful outcome at COP29.
We can and will make real progress through our climate-committed states and cities, our innovators, our companies, and our citizens, especially young people, who understand more than anyone else that climate change is an existential threat that we cannot afford to ignore," he added.
Podesta emphasized that failure or apathy is simply not an option.
"Today is a day when, in many parts of the world, we remember those who were willing to pay the highest price to build a more peaceful world. In the US, it is Veterans Day, a day to honor all those who answered the highest call of our country to serve," he added.
The opening ceremony of the much-anticipated COP29 conference has kicked off today at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
Representatives, leaders, and climate experts from around the globe gathered to mark the beginning of what is set to be one of the largest climate events of the year.
The decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan was made at the COP28 plenary session held in Dubai on December 11 of last year.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in June 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, aims to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. The “COP” (Conference of the Parties) is the highest governing body responsible for overseeing the convention’s implementation.
A total of 198 countries participate in the convention. Unless otherwise agreed, COP is held annually. The first COP took place in Berlin in March 1995, with its secretariat headquartered in Bonn.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel