UN Secretary General calls for ambitious climate finance target at COP29

UN Secretary General António Guterres has emphasized the urgency of setting an ambitious climate finance target at the ongoing COP29 conference.

In a post on X, Guterres stated that the world is now in the final stage of the countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, a key objective of the Paris Agreement, Caliber.Az reports.

We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.#COP29 must deliver a new ambitious climate finance goal that sees a surge in funds for #ClimateAction.

This climate conference must not fail.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 15, 2024

“We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

COP29 must deliver a new ambitious climate finance goal that sees a surge in funds for Climate Action. This climate conference must not fail,” Guterres wrote, stressing the importance of scaling up financial support to combat climate change and its impacts.

COP29, 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 witnessed 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 Vafa Guliyeva