Azerbaijani MP: Climate action can help bridge divided world

Global climate challenges can only be addressed through closer international cooperation, Nigar Arpadarai, a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament, the Milli Majlis, and UN High-Level Leader on Climate Change at COP29, said on September 9.

Speaking at the Baku Climate Action Week 2026 (BCAW 2026) event titled “Climate Leadership Beyond COP31: Delivering Implementation Through Partnership,” Arpadarai said growing mistrust, conflicts and geopolitical divisions are complicating international climate cooperation, Caliber.Az correspondent reports from the venue. 

“I think that it's clear to all of us that we live in a world of mistrust — mistrust, conflicts and division. [...] And at a time when humanity has never been more interconnected and has never possessed technologies with a greater potential to transform or destroy, we are reminded of something fundamental: that we cannot solve global challenges by ourselves,” she said.

Arpadarai said changes in the geopolitical landscape are affecting both international climate cooperation and the global climate situation.

She stressed that the climate agenda has the potential to unite countries and regions despite wider divisions.

“And I think that the climate agenda has an enormous potential because it's the only unifying agenda which brings [...] all the regions of the world, and all the countries of the world together. So we need to push this message a lot. What we need in the world, we obviously need trust, we need empathy, and we need selfless resolve. And at the heart, climate action is about recognising that our interests are connected. So that's something that we need to understand. And it's a lesson in how humanity can work together,” she added.

Turning global commitments into local action

Arpadarai also highlighted the gap between international climate commitments and their implementation at the local level.

She said that while funding commitments secured at COP29 and decisions adopted in Baku were historic, the key challenge is ensuring that these resources reach vulnerable communities.

“That's a number one question. Because we speak a lot, but we need to make sure that the climate action and climate process doesn't impact negatively the quality of life of people, but increases [it],” she said.

According to Arpadarai, the priority is “to bring this global architecture to local realities.”

She also stressed that climate partnerships cannot rely solely on governments, particularly in an increasingly fragmented world. Non-state actors, including cities, regional authorities, businesses and young people, have an important role to play.

“And here the role of the climate champions is there because climate champions work a lot with the non-state actor community, with cities, with sub-nationals, with the private sector, young people and all the groups,” she noted.

By Sabina Mammadli