Global leaders set to address climate action at COP29 High-Level Segment

Fifty presidents, ten vice presidents, twenty heads of government, and two hereditary princes from countries party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will deliver official statements during the High-Level Segment of the World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit (WLAC) within COP29 on November 12-13.

Heads of states or governments that do not present national statements on these dates will have the opportunity to do so during the resumed high-level segment scheduled for November 19-20, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

On the first day of the summit, anticipated speeches include those from Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić, Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Poland's President Andrzej Duda, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko, Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev, Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, as well as the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Statements will also be made by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

On November 13, speeches will continue with contributions from the chair of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the President of Mongolia, vice presidents from Brazil, Tanzania, and Angola, and prime ministers from Greece, Croatia, Malta, Italy, Georgia, Hungary, Albania, Pakistan, Russia, the Netherlands, Denmark, among others.

Let's recall that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev invited Heads of State and Government (HoS/G) to attend the World Leaders Climate Action Summit (WLCAS) on 12 and 13 November 2024, when the first part of the High Level Segment (HLS) for HoS/G will also take place.  

The invitation to the WLCAS in Azerbaijan during COP 29 signifies the importance for world leaders to engage and raise ambition and ensure action to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change and address loss and damage, to implement and translate key climate-related decisions into concrete actions and credible climate change plans.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will be held in Azerbaijan on November 11-22. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary session in Dubai on December 11, 2023.

COP29 is a pivotal opportunity to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis. During two weeks, Baku will welcome around 70,000 to 80,000 international guests, including leaders from governments, business and civil society to advance concrete solutions to the record-high global temperatures, and extreme weather events affecting people around the globe.

A key focus of COP29 will be on finance, as trillions of dollars are required for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change.

The conference will also be a key moment for countries to present their updated national climate action plans under the Paris agreement, which are due by early 2025. If done right, these plans will limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and double as investment plans advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

By Khagan Isayev