BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the G20 leaders' summit in Rio de Janeiro, stressed the importance of a successful COP29, Trend reports.
In his speech, he said that the success of COP29, which is taking place in Baku, will play a decisive role in global climate action.
"We must succeed, build trust and facilitate the development of highly ambitious national climate plans for next year. Otherwise, the ambition to develop new national climate action plans will diminish and we will move even closer to irreversible climate change," he said.
Guterres noted that the results of COP29 should lay a solid foundation for a successful COP in Brazil. He particularly emphasized the importance of funding to meet the needs of developing countries.
The Secretary-General said the global climate crisis had reached a critical point.
"If we do not limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we will face catastrophic consequences," he said.
He called on all countries to take more ambitious measures to combat climate change, recalling that G20 countries are responsible for 80 percent of global emissions.
"New national climate plans must include specific emission reduction targets, covering all sectors and greenhouse gases," he said.
In addition, the Secretary-General announced that the UN, Brazil and UNESCO will launch a new project called the Global Initiative for Accuracy on Climate Change to combat climate disinformation.
In conclusion, Guterres stressed the importance of accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources, diversifying the economy and ensuring a just transition.
To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will last until November 22, was opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. The event is the largest organized by Azerbaijan to date and is the first time the region has hosted the event in Azerbaijan.
The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) means “Conference of Parties” and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A whopping 198 countries have thrown their hats in the ring as parties to the Convention. Unless the parties decide to change the game plan, COP takes place once a year. The inaugural COP event took place in March 1995 in the bustling city of Berlin, Germany, with its secretariat nestled in Bonn.
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