BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 13. I hope that COP29 in Baku will result in the signing of an ambitious agreement that fosters truly inclusive development, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis said in his address to the participants of the ongoing COP29 Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
In his address, the pontiff emphasized that further delays in addressing climate change are unacceptable and stressed that environmental protection is intrinsically tied to the preservation of peace.
"The available scientific data no longer allow for delays and clearly show that the preservation of creation is one of the most urgent issues of our time. We must also recognize that this is closely tied to the protection of peace," the address said.
The Pope underscored that we must act and live as members of one family.
"Let us allow historical and present commitments to become concrete and forward-looking obligations for the future, so that a new collective quantitative goal for climate financing, one of the most pressing issues of this summit, can emerge. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities guides and inspires the work of COP29," the Pope added.
To note, Pope Francis's address to COP29 was delivered by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Holy See.
The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) started in Baku on November 11. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 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 the parties decide otherwise, the COP is held annually. The first COP event took place in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
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.
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