BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 17. The COP29 Presidency and the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will organize a High-Level Dialogue on Global Climate Transparency on September 25 in New York, as part of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Trend reports via a letter from COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev to UN member states, urging support for Azerbaijan's initiatives as the chair of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC.
"The meeting on September 25 during the UN General Assembly in New York will help raise awareness of Azerbaijan’s initiatives as COP President. In particular, the High-Level Dialogue in New York will discuss the 'Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform' (BTP)," Babayev said in the appeal, published on the official COP29 website.
In his view, transparency is crucial for tracking progress, building trust, and identifying areas where further action and support are needed in combating climate change and is also an essential element in reaffirming commitment to the principles, goals, and objectives of the UN Framework Convention and the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
"To set an example for other states, Azerbaijan is currently working on presenting its Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) ahead of COP29, and we urge all Parties to submit their BTRs before COP (to be held from November 11-22 in Baku)," Babayev emphasized.
He acknowledged that measuring and presenting data within the BTR framework can be challenging, particularly for many developing countries.
"Nevertheless, it is important as Parties prepare for the implementation of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) after 2024 (which is reflected in the plans of the UN Paris Climate Agreement). The Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform (BTP) was created to support this effort.
The BTP’s goal is to bring together stakeholders committed to supporting developing countries in preparing and submitting BTRs, to promote cooperation and knowledge sharing among all Parties across the ETF spectrum, and to more effectively mobilize capacity-building resources where they are needed most," noted the COP29 president.
He reminded that, in collaboration with the UNFCCC and other UN agencies and partners, BTP holds workshops for developing countries on their upcoming BTR submissions.
"We'll hold relevant regional workshops across Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and the Caribbean," Babayev announced.
He pointed out that the BTP Platform will complement existing transparency initiatives, including the "Together4Transparency" initiative.
Babayev also mentioned the recent appointments of high-level transparency experts — Zulfia Suleimenova (Advisor to the President of Kazakhstan and Special Representative for International Environmental Cooperation) and Francesco Corvaro (Italy’s Special Envoy for Climate Change).
These experts visited Baku in early September for the presentation of the BTP Platform.
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. 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 Germany's Berlin with its secretariat in Bonn.
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