The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will kick off in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, today (November 11) under the Presidency of Azerbaijan.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President COP 28; will deliver the welcome speech at the opening ceremony and will hand over of the Presidency from COP28 President to COP29 President. Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP 29; will also addressed the ceremony.
COP29 is seen as a ‘pivotal opportunity’ to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis.
Leaders from around the world are set to gather in Baku for the event, which will continue until November 22. It was in Baku where the world’s first oil fields were developed in 1846 and where Azerbaijan led the world in oil production in 1899.
Alongside other global leaders, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh interim’s government Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to
leave for Baku today (Monday) to attend the UN's biggest climate conference.
Professor Yunus will be leading a small delegation and will return home on November 14.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan will also join the COP29.
The Taliban will attend the UN climate conference for the first time since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The National Environmental Protection Agency of that country posted on social media platform X that a technical delegation had gone to Baku to participate.
The COP29 is one of the most important multilateral talks to include the Taliban, who do not have official recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.
Global leaders and diplomats from across the world will descend on Baku for the annual climate summit to discuss how to avoid increasing threats from climate change in a place that was one of the birthplaces of the oil industry.
A UN climate report released just days before the COP29 confirmed that global average temperature rise is approaching 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, which would put the world on course for a catastrophic rise of 2.6-3.1°C this century, unless there are immediate and major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
“With global temperatures hitting record highs, and extreme weather events affecting people around the globe, COP29 will bring together leaders from governments, business and civil society to advance concrete solutions to the defining issue of our time,” according to the UN.
“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 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a multilateral treaty established in 1992, following the first assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Its main aim is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations to prevent dangerous human-induced interference with the climate system.
Since entering into force in 1994, the UNFCCC has served as the foundation for global climate negotiations, leading to significant agreements like the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Today, 198 Parties participate in annual meetings to assess progress and forge responses to the climate crisis.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan stressed the urgent need for global unity in tackling climate change. She urged developed countries to fulfill their climate finance commitments and provide technological support to nations most vulnerable to climate impacts.
