BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. We need to do more to combat climate change on all tracks, said Norway's Minister of Climate and Environment Tore Onshuus Sandvik at the COP29 summit in Baku, Trend reports.
Focusing on three key areas, the minister stressed the need for nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that are in line with the 1.5-degree Celsius target.
"Every tonne counts. We need deep, rapid, and sustained emission reductions," he asserted, underlining the necessity of ambitious targets. "We must come forward with our highest possible ambitions," Sandvik declared, reaffirming Norway’s commitment to global efforts. "Our new NDC will be answered in our Climate Change Act. And our new 2035 target will be our contribution to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees," he added.
Addressing the importance of climate finance, Sandvik called for a more ambitious and achievable collective goal to support climate action in developing countries. "The new collective goal on climate finance needs to be ambitious and achievable and lead to more support of climate action in developing countries," he said. Norway, he explained, would continue to mobilize high levels of support to meet long-term Paris Agreement targets, while also encouraging private sector investment in climate solutions.
"We must implement. We can and must implement climate action while promoting and respecting human rights, gender balance, indigenous peoples' rights and knowledge," he stressed.
Minister Sandvik expressed the hope that COP29 would send a strong message to global decision-makers: "This COP needs to send a strong signal to millions of decision-makers that we as parties will work to succeed in tackling climate change, to keep global warming below 1.5 and achieve a climate resilient future".