Azerbaijan offers to cover costs for some delegates at COP29

A senior official from COP29 has announced that the Azerbaijani government, as the host of this year's 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), will cover the costs for negotiators from climate-vulnerable small island nations to attend the event.

At the November summit, countries are expected to establish a new funding target to assist poorer nations in addressing climate change, a crucial issue for island countries facing rising sea levels, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

Baku has committed to financing the travel, accommodation, and other expenses for four delegates from each small island developing state (SIDS), including the head of the delegation and three additional officials.

The official emphasized the importance of inclusivity in the discussions, stating, "We will do our best to ensure the participation of those countries in need." COP29 is set to take place in Baku from November 11-22. While the official did not disclose the total funding amount, it was noted that approximately 40 SIDS participate in UN climate negotiations. In recent years, delegates have frequently raised concerns about escalating hotel prices in host cities during these annual summits.

Delegates from developing nations typically rely on various funding sources to support their involvement in UN climate talks, including contributions from the UN climate body, regional organizations, and bilateral donors. Small island nations play a significant role in global climate discussions, where they consistently advocate for more ambitious actions to combat climate change. 

At last year's COP28 summit in Dubai, countries agreed to "transition away from fossil fuels" - a compromise reached after SIDS, the European Union, and others called for a more definitive commitment to "phase out" these fuels. This initiative faced opposition from some oil- and gas-rich Gulf nations. As the host of COP29, Azerbaijan - a Caucasus republic that also produces oil and gas - has yet to clarify how it plans to address last year's fossil-fuel agreement during the upcoming summit. Currently, Azerbaijan's energy production is almost entirely reliant on fossil fuels, although the government aims to increase its use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. 

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will be held in Azerbaijan this November. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary session in Dubai on December 11, 2023. During two weeks, Baku will become a global hub, welcoming around 70,000 to 80,000 international guests. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, aimed at preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system. 

The abbreviation COP means "Conference of the Parties" and refers to the highest decision-making body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the UNFCCC. The Convention has 198 member states. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, the COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in Berlin in March 1995, and its secretariat is based in Bonn.

By Naila Huseynova