Azerbaijan’s climate envoy: COP must deliver real results

The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change must serve as a catalyst for concrete climate action beyond the negotiation process, Azerbaijani Presidential Representative on Climate Issues Mukhtar Babayev said.

As reported by Caliber.Az, Babayev made the remarks on September 9 at the event titled “Climate Leadership Beyond COP31: Delivering Implementation Through Partnership,” held as part of Baku Climate Action Week 2026 (BCAW 2026).

Addressing the event, Babayev said the global environment for climate cooperation has become significantly more challenging over the past decade, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, energy shocks, inflation and growing geopolitical competition.

He also pointed to the growing impact and cost of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, pressure on water and food systems, and wildfires.

“The conditions for climate cooperation have become harder than they were 10 years ago,” Babayev said.

He stressed that climate action should not compete with national priorities but instead become an integral part of efforts to address them.

According to Babayev, the energy transition should contribute to energy security and affordability, while adaptation measures should protect economies, infrastructure and communities. At the same time, resilient agriculture should strengthen food and water security.

“We have to demonstrate that climate action can support development, competitiveness and resilience,” he said, adding that such links are essential to maintaining political support for climate policies.

Babayev also highlighted what he described as a persistent gap between international climate agreements and their implementation.

He noted that successive COPs have established an extensive global climate architecture, including targets, plans, institutions and financial mechanisms. However, he argued that the distance between reaching agreements and delivering tangible results remains too great.

“COPs can set direction and create political momentum. But COPs do not build power grids. They do not finance resilient infrastructure. They do not deploy technologies,” Babayev said.

He stressed that implementation ultimately depends on national policies, investment decisions, financial institutions and businesses.

“The question is not whether we still need the COP process. We absolutely do. The question is how we make the COP process drive much more action beyond the COP itself,” he said.

Turning to COP31 in Italy, Babayev said climate leadership in an increasingly fragmented world should not mean ignoring differences between countries. Instead, it should focus on identifying areas where states with differing interests can find common ground and deliver results together.

He urged participants to consider where international cooperation remains possible, which partnerships are already producing results and what needs to be done differently ahead of COP31.

“The next test of climate leadership will not only be our ability to reach agreement. It will be our ability to turn agreement into results,” Babayev concluded.

By Vugar Khalilov