Azerbaijan calls for more accessible climate finance for vulnerable states

Low-income countries received only 3% of mobilised climate finance over the past decade, while middle-income countries accounted for 66%, Azerbaijan’s Presidential Representative on Climate Issues Mukhtar Babayev said on September 7.

Speaking during panel discussions at Baku Climate Action Week 2026, Babayev said the global climate finance gap was not only about the overall amount of funding available, but also about where the money goes and whether vulnerable countries can access it, Caliber.Az reports from the venue.

“OECD data show that over the past decade 66 per cent of mobilised private climate finance went to middle-income countries. Low- income countries received only 3 per cent. That gap should concern us,” he said.

Babayev warned that if climate finance fails to reach the world’s most challenging markets, global fragmentation will deepen rather than diminish.

He stressed that countries face vastly different circumstances in addressing climate change. For some, climate action is closely linked to energy security, competitiveness and the economic costs of the transition, while for others climate impacts have become a major security challenge.

“For small island development states, climate change is ultimately the question of national survival,” Babayev said, stressing that these different realities must remain part of the same international process.

He said differing starting conditions should not prevent collective action and called for national circumstances and respective capacities to be taken into account.

Babayev also emphasised the need for continuity in international climate cooperation, saying the global climate process could not afford to “start over” at every COP.

Previous agreements should serve as the foundation for the next stage of work rather than being subject to constant renegotiation, he said, adding that continuity must also be accompanied by tangible implementation.

According to Babayev, climate action should increasingly be reflected in visible projects, including new power grids, connected renewable energy facilities, strengthened water systems and measures protecting vulnerable communities.

Citing World Bank estimates, he noted that making new infrastructure more resilient can increase investment needs by around 3%, but said incorporating resilience from the outset is significantly cheaper than addressing the consequences after systems fail.

Babayev further called for climate finance to become more accessible.

“We cannot only ask how much finance exists globally. We must also ask, can countries access it? Hope, at what cost? And can it reach projects quickly enough?” he said.

“Finance must reach where the need is greatest, not only where the investment is easiest.”

The Azerbaijani official also stressed the importance of maintaining climate dialogue even when broader political relations become more difficult.

He warned that water shortages could heighten regional tensions, food insecurity could intensify social and economic pressures, and climate-related disasters could further weaken vulnerable economies.

“This is why environmental cooperation should remain a bridge, not another line of division,” Babayev said.

He pointed to Azerbaijan’s experience hosting COP29 in Baku, saying countries arrived with different priorities and expectations but remained engaged in negotiations.

“That culture of engagement matters. As we move towards COP31, we need to protect it,” he said.

Babayev warned that weakening international climate cooperation would not slow climate change. Instead, the world would face more severe consequences while having fewer tools to manage them.

He said Baku Climate Action Week provides an important space between COP summits to address difficult issues, preserve dialogue and bring international climate commitments closer to implementation.

By Vugar Khalilov