BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. Like other countries, Azerbaijan faces serious climate challenges, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said at an international conference marking World Environment Day in Baku today, Trend reports.
She added that Azerbaijan continues to play an important role in combating climate change at the global, regional, and national levels.
According to her, hosting COP29 contributed to achieving the goals of the “Baku commitment” and the “Baku outcomes”:
“The climate negotiations held in Baku in 2024 led to an agreement to mobilize $300 billion in climate finance by 2035. Recently, Baku also hosted the World Urban Forum, which focused on climate resilience and the connection between cities and nature. Today, we have gathered here to strengthen our resolve and take practical steps in the fight against climate change. Climate change is a global problem that must be at the forefront of each of our minds. Global temperatures are rising, and the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly severe. The Earth is sending us signals — heat waves, droughts, floods, desertification, and sand and dust storms are manifestations of these signals.
These consequences affect everyone, but the poor and vulnerable segments of the population suffer the most. Azerbaijan, like other countries, faces serious climate challenges. The degradation of mountain ecosystems and the drop in the water level of the Caspian Sea are having a significant impact on ports, economic activity, fisheries, infrastructure, and coastal communities.
“However, this should not lead to despair. This is not the story we are writing to be desperate – the story has not yet been written, and the pen is in our hands. We can shape this future,” she noted.
The UN representative stated that the rise in global temperatures is likely to exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius limit set in the Paris Agreement in the near future.
“Therefore, we must work even harder to return to that level by the end of the century, while simultaneously protecting communities and countries, especially small island developing states, from the more severe and frequent impacts of climate change.
This means a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels in our energy systems. This requires urgent and large-scale investment and the implementation of all available solutions. It also means, as promised in Baku, robust financing, effective adaptation measures, early warning systems, and strengthened disaster preparedness. Multilateral cooperation on climate change can make this happen. “When the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, global temperature rise was projected to reach 3.5 degrees. Azerbaijan is also sending important signals on climate change,” she added.
