Azerbaijan initiates climate transparency dialogue at New York forum

On September 25, as part of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, a "  High-Level Forum on Global Climate Transparency " took place in New York at the initiative of Azerbaijan, which is chairing COP29.

The event was attended by senior officials from nearly 80 countries and international organisations, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The primary aim of the forum was to support the preparation of the Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR), which are a key component of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) established under the Paris Agreement. It also sought to strengthen cooperation among partner countries, donor organisations, and other stakeholders.

In his address at the event, COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev emphasised the importance of climate transparency and informed participants about the activities being undertaken in this area under the COP29 Presidency. He highlighted that the BTRs, which will be presented for the first time this year, play a crucial role in the objective assessment of work done in the field of climate change.

The significance of training workshops conducted in this regard by the COP29 Presidency, in collaboration with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and other partners, on the development of BTRs in Baku and various regions of the world was also emphasised.

Additionally, the "Baku Global Platform for Climate Transparency" (BTP) was presented during the event. This platform serves as a main initiative of COP29 regarding climate transparency, aimed at building trust among countries and enhancing capacity in the development of BTRs.

COP29 Chief Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev stressed in his speech that the BTP would be an important platform in the global process of climate transparency. He noted that the primary goal of the BTP is to foster trust among participating states and support developing countries in preparing BTRs, promote universal participation in the ETF, and continue the transparency agenda after COP29.

Notably, the 29th session of COP29 is set to take place in Azerbaijan this November, following a decision made during the COP28 plenary in Dubai on December 11, 2023.

Over a two-week period, Baku will host approximately 70,000 to 80,000 international attendees. The UNFCCC, established at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, aims to prevent significant human-induced climate disruption. 

The acronym COP stands for "Conference of the Parties," which is the primary decision-making body overseeing the UNFCCC, currently comprising 198 member states.

By Aghakazim Guliyev