BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 12. At the opening of COP29 in Baku, Finnish President Alexander Stubb emphasized the urgent need for multilateralism to tackle climate change, calling it a "litmus test" for global cooperation, Trend reports.
"In this age of multipolarity, we probably need multilateralism more than ever," Stubb said, stressing that failure to address climate change would compromise efforts on other global issues such as sustainable development, technology, and demography.
Highlighting the role of major economies, Stubb stated, "Countries which seek to upgrade their global influence… cannot demand that global responsibilities are forever based on circumstances in the early 1990s." He pointed out that the largest emitters bear a critical responsibility, urging them to determine the direction of the whole planet by committing to bold climate actions.
Stubb called for immediate action on previously agreed climate targets. "Last year in Dubai, we took the crucial step by agreeing on the transition away from fossil fuels. Now we need to turn our promises into practice," he emphasized, urging G20 members to set "the most ambitious targets possible in line with the 1.5 degrees limit" ahead of COP30.
On the topic of climate finance, he advocated for an updated and realistic global goal. Stubb announced that Finland would be increasing its funding to the Systematic Observations Finance Facility, a measure aimed at enhancing resilience and adaptation efforts for the world’s most vulnerable nations, particularly least developed countries and small island states.
President Stubb outlined three critical elements needed to combat the climate crisis: "We need targets and legislation, we need finance, both public and private, and we need technological innovations." He explained that no single solution could solve the crisis alone, but that together, these three components could drive meaningful progress. "We cannot regulate ourselves out of this crisis, we cannot pay ourselves out of this crisis, but we can innovate ourselves from this crisis," he concluded.