Azerbaijan’s COP29 chief: Donors must pay up on climate pledges

Azerbaijan, as the host of COP29, is committed to ensuring that wealthy nations fulfil their financial promises to fight climate change, said Mukhtar Babayev, the country’s presidential representative for climate and the official president of COP29.

In an interview with EFE during the 62nd session of the UN Subsidiary Bodies on Climate Change (SB62) in Bonn, Babayev criticised attempts to reduce funding for climate action, Caliber.Az reports, citing domestic media.

“Depriving the climate fight of money is a short-sighted decision, because every dollar spent is an investment in our common future,” Babayev stated.

He announced that Azerbaijan will be consulting with governments and civil society on a “road map from Baku to Belém” aimed at reaching the climate finance target of $1.3 trillion.

Babayev also confirmed that Azerbaijan will take part in the 4th UN International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), scheduled to be held in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3. He stressed the importance of the event, calling it “a critical moment” for international cooperation on climate finance.

He noted that a historic agreement had been reached during COP29 in Baku last November to provide $300 billion annually to help developing countries tackle climate change. However, Babayev warned that some donor countries began retreating from their pledges as early as 2025.

“A reduction in the climate budget was recorded worldwide. Azerbaijan will participate in the conference in Seville to fight for climate finance and to ensure that countries report on the promises they have made,” he said.

Babayev also highlighted progress made following COP29 in Baku, including the adoption of the “Commitments on Global Energy Storage and Networks,” an Azerbaijani-led initiative to scale up global energy storage capacity sixfold by 2030, to 1,500 gigawatts compared to 2022 levels.

“New commitments on hydrogen and green energy zones were also launched. All these measures will help create a new energy system that will be ready for the mass deployment of renewable energy,” Babayev said.

He concluded by emphasising that the agenda for action is designed to ensure a “fair, equitable and orderly transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.”