BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 21. As part of COP29 in Baku, Trend News Agency proudly presents COP for Hope, a special project offering an unparalleled platform to hear from world leaders and trailblazers in politics, economics, science, and ecology, all united by a shared commitment to addressing today’s pressing climate challenges.
Today, we are honored to speak with the Deputy Director-General of the Maldives Meteorological Service Ali Shareef.
In an interview with Trend, Shareef noted that positive outcomes in the fight against climate change are achievable if competence is demonstrated within the framework of mutual interests.
The deputy expressed his optimism for the ongoing negotiations at COP29.
"I am still very hopeful. You know, we’re in the final days of COP29, and while there have been some delays in the negotiations, we still have two days left. That’s why I remain full of hope and optimism. I will stay optimistic until the very end.
If we demonstrate our expertise and work together within the framework of shared interests, we can achieve positive results in combating climate change.
The negotiations are progressing well. Some of the proposals we presented earlier have changed slightly, but we expect to move forward more quickly given the limited time," he added.
To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.
Within COP29, the highest-level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 12–13.
The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 Presidency has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.
In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5°C pledge by bringing everyone together.
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) stands for “Conference of Parties” and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
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