BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 13. Climate finance is crucial for reforming programs in this area and the entire climate agenda, said Mukhtar Babayev during the 13th Global Baku Forum on "Bridging Divides in a World in Transition", Trend reports.
According to him, multilateral cooperation is under great pressure, and the entire UN system is experiencing significant strain. Therefore, close collaboration is crucial to achieving not only positive decisions but also their practical implementation.
He recalled that during COP29 in Baku, an agreement was reached to launch a Loss and Damage Fund, a financial target of mobilizing at least $300 billion per year for developing countries by 2035 was agreed upon, and a practical plan for mobilizing $1.3 trillion in climate finance was presented.
Babayev noted that the implementation of the decisions taken regarding the Loss and Damage Fund is currently being monitored.
"In the first years, we saw a fairly active influx of donor funds into the Loss and Damage Compensation Fund, but last year it became clear that this process was gradually losing momentum. This fund accumulates resources to provide assistance, primarily to small island developing states and other vulnerable countries, so they can rebuild their economies and social life after major disasters," he added.
At the same time, Babayev emphasized that the commitment to mobilize at least $300 billion annually for developing countries, as well as the practical plan to mobilize $1.3 trillion, are also currently under significant pressure.
"Politicians around the world are increasingly considering re-prioritizing their financial commitments. In 2024, we had a unique atmosphere in Baku, where donors decided to contribute $100 million and continue progress toward the 2035 goals. However, unfortunately, we are now hearing about steps back in these decisions, and we await the 2025 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to see the real results of these contributions.
We understand that today, other challenges—state security, defense, and military issues—are increasingly consuming attention and financial resources. Countries are increasingly considering how to protect themselves from these threats, wars, and conflicts, but life is changing, and we are all living in these changes. We need to adapt, but we also need to invest and secure funding, because without financial support, all our steps and actions, unfortunately, will not lead to a real solution to the problem or achieve results," Babayev concluded.
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