Caring for climate - manifestation of global citizenship UN General Assembly president says

President of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) María Fernanda Espinosa has said that caring and taking responsibility for climate is a manifestation of global citizenship.

"The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku is expected to achieve clear financing targets," Espinosa noted, per Report.

The UNGA president said the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention will also allow for the development of a better adaptation strategy until 2030, by which time global emissions should be reduced by more than 40 per cent and then reach "net zero" by 2050. 

"In the case of COP29, there are three questions that I think the world is waiting for an answer to: it is to agree on a new climate finance target, i.e. how much it will cost to go to net zero, where will the funds come from, which countries and communities need the investment most, and how we are going to implement the Paris Agreement and reduce emissions once and for all," Fernanda Espinosa noted.

She said climate has unfortunately been a factor in widening the inequality gap between those who have access to low-carbon technologies, who have more adaptive capacity, more resources than others.

"But on the contrary, climate should be an equalizer. Access to green technologies, to sustainable food systems has to be an equalizer. That's what we're striving for. And so this new climate finance target is crucial," she said.

According to Espinosa the second key goal is to ensure that transition and investments promote equity and poverty alleviation. "Third, I think it's critical to redouble resources for adaptation and the adaptation goal, which has already made incredible progress at COP28. Everyone has expectations. And now caring and taking responsibility for climate is a manifestation of global citizenship," she said.

The 73rd UNGA president also noted that COP29 should not only be a financial, climate conference, but can also contribute to the peace agenda. "We look forward to concluding the final peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia," she added.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Azerbaijan on November 11-22 this year.