BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The COP29 General Headquarters hosted the first press conference regarding the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in November 2024 in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev, COP29 CEO Elnur Soltanov, COP29 Operating Company Chairman and CEO Narmin Jarchalova, UN High-Level Climate Champion Nigar Arpadarai, and COP29 Youth Climate Champion for Azerbaijan Leyla Hasanova have spoken at the event.
Speaking about the preparation for the conference, Babayev noted that hosting COP29 in the country is a manifestation of the international community's trust in the national and international policies pursued under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, as well as Azerbaijan's efforts to contribute to addressing climate change.
Emphasizing that Azerbaijan assumed the presidency of COP29 with unanimous support from the world's countries, Babayev said that during its presidency at the conference, Azerbaijan will demonstrate continuous activity towards strengthening global solidarity on climate change issues.
Highlighting that the green transition is among Azerbaijan's national priorities, Babayev also mentioned that the country has joined the Global Methane Pledge initiative, which involves voluntary commitments by states to reduce methane emissions into the environment.
He stated that the goal is to increase the share of renewable energy sources in installed electricity capacity to 30 percent by 2030.
Additionally, according to him, Azerbaijan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent by 2030 and by 40 percent by 2050 compared to the baseline in 1990.
"Today, Azerbaijan, as part of the world, is facing the consequences of climate change," said Babayev, emphasizing issues such as the reduction of water levels in rivers and the Caspian Sea and desertification.
The agenda for negotiations on the expected outcome documents of COP29 was also clarified during the press conference.
Yalchin Rafiyev, the head of the negotiating group and Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, stated that Azerbaijan approaches the negotiation process within the mandate of hosting COP29 from the perspective of transparency, inclusiveness, and neutrality towards all participating parties.
"Key topics of the COP29 negotiations, including climate finance, are being extensively discussed with all parties. Active work is underway to find possible solutions for the successful conclusion of negotiations," noted Rafiyev.
The Executive Director of COP29, Elnur Soltanov, highlighted that this event will serve as a platform for broad discussions and actions to accelerate the transition to green energy, expressing confidence that new opportunities will emerge in terms of fulfilling Azerbaijan's commitments in this direction.
"Azerbaijan's role will not be limited to just hosting the event, and our country will also lead the negotiations at the conference. In this sense, Baku will be in the spotlight of the world in November," noted Soltanov.
The Chairperson of the COP29 Operational Company's Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer, Narmin Jarchalova, pointed out that although various international events have been held in Azerbaijan before, COP29 will be the largest event in terms of the number of participants and scale. The Baku Olympic Stadium has been chosen as the venue for the event.
"The decision on the venue for COP29 was made after consultations with the UN and taking into account the experience of previous COP events. During large-scale events held to date at this venue, efficient use and sustainability of the infrastructure have been fully ensured. The Blue and Green Zones, which will be organized at the stadium during COP29, are being prepared in coordination with the organizers' team. Structures will be installed around the stadium to organize all plenary sessions of the conference in one space," noted Jarchalova.
The press conference also addressed the issue of hotels accommodating guests, emphasizing that all accommodation options will be available on a unified international platform in the near future.
Speaking about the participation of civil society and the private sector in COP29, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion Nigar Arpadarai emphasized the importance of their involvement in discussions and decision-making.
COP29 Youth Climate Champion for Azerbaijan Leyla Hasanova said that youth-related activities play an important role at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, highlighting the importance of existing practices and global projects in this field.
She informed the media about the expansion of such areas as youth development and knowledge exchange, activities aimed at involving youth in global processes.
The press conference hosted the public presentation of the COP29 logo.
The logo reflects a complex of multi-dimensional initiatives of the COP29 presidency, combining symbols of a buta, a leaf, and water drops as a reference to environmental sensitivity in the context of the importance of natural resources and Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage.
The motif of the buta, rooted in Azerbaijan's historical and cultural heritage, symbolizes not only sustainability and innovation but also a bridge between the past and the future, as well as five different elements: flora and fauna, air and wind, water, energy, and the universe.
The logo reflects the importance of a continuous connection between humanity and the environment, an environmentally sensitive approach, and result-oriented actions in the era of growing climate challenges.
This November, Azerbaijan will host COP29. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary meeting held in Dubai on December 11 last year. Baku will become the center of the world and will receive about 70–80,000 foreign guests.
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 with the climate system. The COP—the Conference of the Parties—is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. There are 198 countries that are parties to the Convention. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the COP is held annually. The first COP event took place in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
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