A panel titled “COP 29 and Green Horizons: Navigating Climate Change” was organized by the AIR Center in partnership with GLOBSEC 2024 in Prague.
Moderated by Sofiia Shevchuk, the founder of the VONA & The Tide and GLOBSEC Young Leader 2024, the panel highlighted the importance of urgent actions against climate fluctuations and the inevitability of regional synergies in order to tackle the undesirable scenarios worldwide.
Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chief Executive Officer of COP29, Elnur Soltanov, briefed the audience about negotiation and action tracks, as well as the works implemented by Azerbaijan so far. He said that creating synergies between negotiating and action items is of crucial importance. Speaking about the 14 proposals, he said that 3 of the issues out of them will be about finance, and 4 or 5 points will address the energy, cleaning, and green transition issues.
Soltanov also underscored that this year’s COP 29 will be the time for truce:
“We also have a COP truce idea. We will be making a call on everybody to observe a ceasefire. Because even an hour of ceasefire is important for us. Wars are the major source of greenhouse emissions.”
He also noted that water shortages are more alarming compared to heatwaves, wildfires, which have knock-on effects on agriculture, food systems and tourism.
Regarding the engagement strategy, he said that Azerbaijan is working with all the parties on the bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral levels, as well as with the governments and international organizations.
Highlighting the role of finances in dealing with climate change, he said that without the basic means, the entire climate architecture can collapse. Thus, active interaction between developed and developing states must be carried out.
