Environment Desk, Oct 19 (EFE).- Securing fair financing, avoiding a global average temperature increase above 1.5\u00b0C and ensuring that no one is left behind are the main objectives of the organizing committee of the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku next month, its president-designate, Mukhtar Babayev, told EFE in an interview.<\/p>
\u201cThe time for delays and fragmented approaches has long passed \u2014 if we are to keep the 1.5\u00b0C target within reach, bold and united action is the only option”, said Babayev, who is committed to reaching a \u201cconsensus\u201d to overcome the main stumbling block that separates developed nations from those that lack resources: climate financing.<\/p>
In fact, the conference is also being called \u201cThe Finance COP\u201d because, for the first time in 15 years, a new global climate finance target must be agreed.<\/p>
According to the COP29 presidency, in order to act, countries must establish the so-called New Collective Quantified Collective Goal (NCQC), a key element of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which replaces the current funding target \u2013 set 15 years ago \u2013 that committed to mobilizing $100 billion annually against climate change by 2020.<\/p>
“The broader landscape of climate finance remains inadequate (…) We must broaden access to concessional financing, streamline pathways to climate funds, and leverage these resources to reduce both risks and costs,” the politician said.<\/p>
As a first step, according to Baku, countries need to step up their national climate commitments (known as Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs), scheduled for 2025, and these proposals must maintain the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5\u00baC.<\/p>
“The real test lies in whether we can act swiftly and at the scale the crisis demands. Many nations are eager to do more but lack the resources, which is why securing finance has to be a central focus. We will spare no efforts to act as a bridge\u201d, Babayev said in the written interview.<\/p>
The official, who previously served as Azerbaijan\u2019s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, pledged that small states would be heard at the conference at a time he called \u201ccollective responsibility\u201d. EFE<\/p>
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