Credit: COP29
COP29 President-Designate provides clearest indication yet as to Azerbaijan's priorities for November Climate Summit
Mukhtar Babayev, the President-Designate of the COP29 Climate Summit, has confirmed the 1.5C temperature goal will be the "guiding compass" for this year's climate talks, as he delivered his most extensive address since assuming the role.
Speaking at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue summit in Berlin yesterday, Babayev offered the strongest indication yet of the Azerbaijan presidency's priorities for the summit, which is set to take place in Baku between 11 November and 22 November.
In his address, Babayev - who alslo serves as Azerbaijan's ecology minister - stressed the importance of capping global temperature rise below the Paris Agreement's more stretching 1.5C goal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, failure to meet the goal will lead to loss of homes and habitats," he said. "It would be a devastating and existential threat to many, especially the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. It means that people would be left behind... We all have a moral duty to avoid this outcome."
Global temperatures have now risen by at least 1.2C above pre-industrial times, and the UN has warned the the world is on track for a dangerous 2.9C of warming by the end of the century, even if current decarbonisation goals are met. Most economies are not on track to meet those current targets, fuelling fears temperature increases could spiral about 3C this century, with the 1.5C threshold passed within the next decade or so.
Babayev said a key focus of the COP29 Presidency would be on ensuring countries have the support they need to submit the next round of national climate action plans required under the Paris Agreement.
All parties to the international climate accord have agreed to submit a new five-year climate plan for their country – known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the UN jargon – by the COP30 Climate Summit, which is set to be held in Brazil in 2025.
Reiterating a pledge made last month, Babayev confirmed his government's intention to "submit a 1.5C-aligned NDC" so as to "lead by example".
Babayev said the Presidency was also focused on helping countries to deliver National Adaption Plans - also due next year - and the first round of Biennial Transparency Reports ahead of this December's deadline.
"If we can support Parties to deliver these three things: Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, and Biennial Transparency Reports, then we will have sent a strong signal of our ambition to act," he said.
The Minister emphasised the importance of country adaptation plans incorporating action to make food systems more resilient. "Over one third of the labour force in Azerbaijan work in agriculture," he said. "We now face risks from water shortages and land degradation. These are problems shared by almost four billion people around the world."
With countries tasked with agreeing on a post-2025 goal for climate finance in Baku, Babayev stressed that driving progress on the climate finance agenda would also be a major focus of the Presidency.
"Climate finance has been one of the most challenging topics of climate diplomacy over the years," he said. "And we know that there are strong and well-founded views on all sides.
"We are listening to all parties to understand their concerns and help them refine potential landing zones based on a shared vision of success so that we can deliver a fair and ambitious new goal."
Finalising fraught negotiations on rules for international carbon markets and operationalising the historic Loss and the Damage Fund agreed at COP27 Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh were also singled out as priorities for Baku Summit.
And the minister urged the private sector to remain committed to advancing the decarbonisation agenda and engage with the upcoming summit, in particular on discussions around climate finance.
"Businesses have previously made progress committing to net zero," he said. "Companies must now deliver and avoid backsliding. "We hope that companies can come to COP29 ready to show how they are allocating capital and ensuring investment decisions are aligned with our climate goals."
Elsewhere, Babayev said the COP29 Presidency would "create a space for everyone to engage in dialogue" at the upcoming summit. "Azerbaijan sits at the crossroads of the world and we are ready to serve as a bridge between countries," he said.
Delivering on the priorities set by the Azerbaijan government will prove a huge challenge for the hosts, with the Summit set to take place against a backdrop of fraught geopolitical tensions and the long-running stand off between richer and poorer nations over how to finance climate action in developing economies.
The talks are also set to face calls from businesses and green groups for governments to do more to deliver on the ambitious goals set at the COP28 Climate Summit last year, including the pledge to transition away from unabated fossil fuels. But at the same time a number of leading petrostates are likely to again push back against the more ambitious goals agreed in Dubai.
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