COP29: Minister presents Türkiye's vision for real action on climate change

Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urban Development, and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, expressed his pride at the presidency of COP29 being held in Azerbaijan, emphasizing that it is a moment of great significance for Türkiye and its Turkic brothers.

Speaking at the first meeting of Environment and Ecology Ministers from the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) at COP29, Kurum said the summit would strengthen the fraternal bonds between Turkic states and foster cooperation in addressing climate change, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Kurum highlighted the importance of COP29 as a platform for concrete actions on climate change:

"As you know, yesterday we shared Türkiye’s long-term strategy and roadmap with the world. We also had the opportunity to express our position and expectations regarding COP29. COP29 is one of the meetings where the highest expectations are for real, grounded concrete steps on climate change. Expect very important decisions to be made for countries without access to finance. There is hope because every day we are feeling the effects of climate change more and more. Our world is facing unprecedented dangers, especially with the meteorological disasters of the last 50 years. More than 11,000 disasters have killed more than 2 million people in the last half-century. We have had to endure a global economic loss of $4.5 trillion. But I regret to say that the countries that have suffered the most from these negative circumstances are those least responsible for climate change."

Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), Kubanychbek Omuraliev, also spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the ongoing efforts to expand cooperation among the Turkic states. He noted that the OTS is working on 35 key areas of collaboration, including politics, economy, energy, transport, tourism, education, law, culture, youth, and sports.

Omuraliev pointed out that a summit held in Shusha on July 6, 2024 resulted in the adoption of the Karabakh Declaration, which instructed all member states to establish a cooperation mechanism to strengthen collaboration on environmental and climate issues. He also mentioned the Green Vision for Turkic States, adopted at the 11th OTS Summit in Bishkek, as a conceptual document that reflects a holistic approach to climate change.

“The OTS is taking the initiative to create a new multilateral platform for ministries of technology, environment, and ecology. As we know, environmental problems have no national boundaries. Today, the Turkic peoples are dynamically developing the work of our organisation related to multilateral cooperation with the Turkic states,” Omuraliev said.

COP29, which is being held from November 11 to 22 at Baku Stadium, marks Azerbaijan’s largest and most significant event to date and is the first time the country has hosted a COP summit. The event saw the signing of a Host Country Agreement and other crucial documents between the Azerbaijani government and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat.

A key focus of COP29 is the establishment of a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) for climate finance. The presidency of COP29 has introduced 14 initiatives that connect climate action to the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, energy storage, climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction from organic waste, green digital technologies, and more. One of the proposed initiatives is the creation of a Climate Finance Action Fund aimed at achieving the critical target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Azerbaijan's commitment to mitigating climate change and protecting the environment has been evident throughout COP29. The unanimous decision to elect Azerbaijan as the host for this summit reflects the global community’s trust in the country’s leadership on climate action, as President Ilham Aliyev highlighted, underscoring Azerbaijan's important role in global climate efforts.

By Tamilla Hasanova