Azerbaijan champions glacier preservation at Dushanbe climate summit

An Azerbaijani delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Samir Sharifov, is participating in the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation, currently underway in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The conference convenes senior representatives from UN agencies, governments, financial institutions, civil society, and global experts to address the urgent crisis of glacier retreat and to develop actionable strategies for their protection, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The Azerbaijani delegation also includes officials from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Held under the auspices of the United Nations’ International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025, and initiated by Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, the conference underscores the pivotal role glaciers play in combating global climate change.

Speaking at the plenary session on May 30, Deputy Prime Minister Sharifov highlighted Azerbaijan’s recent leadership in climate diplomacy, referencing the successful 29th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), hosted in Baku earlier this year. “At COP29, significant progress was achieved on longstanding issues,” Sharifov remarked, noting the historic agreement on a new global climate finance goal of at least $300 billion annually by 2035 to aid developing nations, alongside the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund to support vulnerable countries confronting climate impacts.

Sharifov stressed that glacier preservation holds not only regional but profound global importance. He characterized the protection of glaciers as a crucial climate mitigation strategy, underscoring that limiting global temperature rise, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, remains essential to safeguarding these vital natural resources.

During the conference, Sharifov held bilateral meetings with Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda and Deputy Prime Minister Usmonali Usmonzoda—Co-Chairman of the Azerbaijan-Tajikistan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation—as well as with Asad Majeed Khan, Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization. Discussions focused on collaborative efforts to combat climate change and addressed other issues of mutual interest.

By Vafa Guliyeva