World community to gather in Baku to address humanity's most pressing challenge Elin Suleymanov on Times Radio

Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the UK, Elin Suleymanov, emphasized the significance of the upcoming COP29 summit in an interview with Times Radio, calling it "the most important summit on climate action."

"The world community will gather in Baku to address humanity's most pressing challenge," he stated, Caliber.Az reports.

Ambassador Suleymanov highlighted that COP29 is particularly crucial because it will focus on financial commitments. He explained, "We need to establish a new collective quantitative target—essentially a financial target—to support our climate ambitions. When the Paris Agreement was initiated, there was little real resource backing. While we often discuss the need for financial support, we haven't provided adequate resources. Baku aims to create a solid resource base to back our climate initiatives. Without this, our discussions may ultimately lead to empty promises."

He acknowledged that no location is free from controversy, stating, "Any place in the world will have its critics. Where is there no controversy? Even organizations like Amnesty International raise issues everywhere. However, we must remember that we are coming together to confront the critical issue of climate action."

In response to a question from the host regarding the concept of "greenwashing"—the practice of promoting an organization’s environmental initiatives to enhance its reputation—Suleymanov firmly rejected the idea. "Absolutely not. Less than a year ago, we didn't even know we would be hosting this event. It’s difficult to claim we’re engaging in 'greenwashing' when we were not even aware of our role in COP. Discussions on climate action began long before Azerbaijan was selected as the host."

Suleymanov also questioned the logic behind the idea of "greenwashing," saying, "It doesn’t make sense to avoid criticism while simultaneously drawing attention to our climate efforts. It’s a contradiction."

He stressed the importance of focusing on the collective goal of advancing global climate action rather than getting sidetracked by criticisms.

“COP29 is not about Azerbaijan... This is about: do we agree to move forward with global climate action?”

We need discuss our “collective quantifiable goals” and provide resource backing for our ambitions, says Azerbaijan's ambassador Elin Suleymanov.

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— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) October 10, 2024

By Vafa Guliyeva