LEIPZIG, Germany, May 23. The Republic of Ireland welcomes the progress made by Azerbaijan in the transport sector in recent years, Jack Chambers, Irish Minister of State at the Department of Transport, told Trend in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the International Transport Forum (ITF) in Leipzig.
"We welcome the progress made in the transportation sector in Azerbaijan and beyond in recent years," he said.
According to the minister, there is a need for collective leadership across governments all over the globe.
"While COPs have achieved some successes, there remains a need to constrain broader ambitions, particularly in areas like climate finance and accelerating capital investments to reduce emissions in transport systems," Chambers added.
When speaking about the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku, Chambers pointed out the clear and tangible impacts of climate change, emphasizing the critical need for significant decisions within the COP framework.
"Strong leadership from all countries is essential, alongside adequate climate finance for developing nations. However, we need further concrete actions stemming from the certain agreed text. We need to get everyone around the table and formulate a text that translates into actionable outcomes, including engagement from fossil fuel-producing countries, as they have a crucial role to play," he said, adding that countries should prioritize consensus-building and effective actions rather than resorting to labeling traditional fuel producers.
From May 22-24, 2024, Leipzig, Germany, will host the ITF summit on transport promoting a sustainable economy, chaired by Lithuania. Participants will discuss and share ideas on how transport can drive economic growth while also enhancing environmental and social sustainability.
The International Transport Forum (ITF) is an intergovernmental organization with over 60 member countries, including Azerbaijan.
Established in 2006 under the OECD, the ITF succeeded the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), which had been in operation since 1953.