The Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) and the Royal United Services Institute, RUSI, co-organized a roundtable titled “The COP29 Summit: Navigating Climate Change, Peace, and Security” with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in London. The roundtable was attended by high-ranking guests from both countries, regional experts, and representatives of the public and private sectors.
Addressing the event, President of COP26, Alok Sharma, spoke about the importance of COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan in terms of the future of humanity. He emphasized that the achievements to be achieved at COP29 will be not only Azerbaijan’s, but also the entire world’s success. A. Sharma pointed out that he is in close contact with the COP29 President-Designate and his team, and they are working tirelessly for the successful organization of this prestigious event.
Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Senior Adviser to the COP29 Presidency Negotiating Team, Mr. Elshad Iskandarov, stressed the importance of the upcoming COP29 in terms of regional and global context. Speaking about the climate urgency areas, the diplomat touched on the climate change and displacement nexus and mentioned migration as one of the major ramifications of environmental degradation.
Elshad Iskandarov said that climate finance will be the main topic on the COP29 agenda as the deliberations will envisage the finance management issues, including the support to the worst-hit countries.
Touching on the COP29 initiatives, the diplomat highlighted the UK’s support in developing the Peace and Recovery Initiative.
“The Climate Finance Action Fund will decrease the timing of applications’ review up to 9 months. The Fund will catalyse the public and private sectors across mitigation, adaptation, and research and development and will contain additional special facilities,” E. Iskandarov concluded.
Fiona Clouder, the UK Government’s COP26 Regional Ambassador to Latin America and the Caribbean , informed about the difficulties encountered at COP26 and the steps taken to solve them, and said that there are great expectations from COP29 held in Azerbaijan.
Chairman of the Board of the AIR Center, Farid Shafiyev, talked about the COP29 initiatives and noted that Azerbaijan supports the idea of the creation of the Climate Finance Action Fund, which is aimed at increasing the contribution of the fossil fuel-rich countries to the green technology transition. Talking about the conflicts around the world, Farid Shafiyev noted that the COP29 Presidency initiated the COP Truce Appeal.
“This is an appeal for a COP Truce, modelled on the Olympic Truce, to highlight the importance of peace and climate action,” the AIR Center Chairman added.
Moreover, Farid Shafiyev touched upon the energy diversification and green transition processes in Azerbaijan. He underlined that Azerbaijan is going to support various green energy projects in the country, and BP is one of the companies supporting these plans by implementing green energy projects in Azerbaijan.
Neil Melvin, the Director of International Security at RUSI, talked about the positive changes taking place in the South Caucasus region in his speech. He emphasized that COP29 is a very important event both in terms of climate and the general development of the region, and delivered his best wishes of success to Azerbaijan.
Former ambassador of Great Britain to Azerbaijan, James Sharp, talked about the British cooperation promoting the energy transition in Azerbaijan during his appointment and emphasized that he highly appreciates Azerbaijan’s efforts to contribute to climate action at the international level.
AIR Center’s Senior Advisor Shahmar Hajiyev made a PowerPoint presentation about COP29 and “Azerbaijan’s Approach to Tackling Climate Change”. He analysed three major key questions, such as “How is Azerbaijan seeking to counter climate change and promote the energy transition?, “What are the opportunities and challenges of the Middle Corridor initiative for energy security? and “How can COP29 best promote the transition to non-fossil fuels?” Shahmar Hajiyev provided a detailed overview of Azerbaijan’s green transition objectives. According to him, the creation of a clean environment and green energy zones are among key aims. Talking about the green energy concept in the liberated territories, he especially underlined the role of renewable energy sources to support sustainable development.
Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mr. Elin Suleymanov also participated at the event and responded to the questions during Q&A session.
