BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 12. COP29 will open great opportunities for successful business operations amid the new climate realities, Climate and Risk Representative for the UK Howden Group Anthony Hobley said at the International Forum on Sustainable Development and Climate Innovation in Baku today, TurkicWorld reports.
He tipped his hat to the COP29 presidency team for their hard work in getting the ball rolling on negotiations ahead of the November climate summit in Baku.
"Climate change impacts the overall development of the economy, investor earnings, and business operations, which is why climate solutions are of global importance," Hobley noted.
According to him, finance tackles a host of challenges, not the least of which is the looming specter of climate change, and it's crucial to pull out all the stops and rally as much market funding as we can to pave the way for effective climate financing.
"Climate change is increasing risks, including credit risks, which is why banks are actively involved in all climate negotiations," he emphasized.
Hobley expressed his satisfaction with the British Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (BCCA) for organizing events in Baku for the business community, which is directly involved in implementing COP decisions.
"Baku will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and only in the past decade has the world begun to understand the importance of environmental actions for the successful development of the economy and the functioning of cities. I'm confident that the negotiations at COP29, like in previous sessions, will yield important results," Hobley also said.
In his opinion, political will is also needed to facilitate climate financing and promote energy transition measures.
"COP29 will create significant opportunities for businesses to thrive within the framework of new climate realities and the steps taken to combat climate change," Hobley added.
This November, Azerbaijan will host COP29. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary meeting held in Dubai on December 11 last year. Baku will become the center of the world and will receive about 70–80,000 foreign guests.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. COP—the Conference of the Parties—is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. There are 198 countries that are parties to the Convention. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the COP is held annually. The first COP event took place in March 1995 in Germany's Berlin with its secretariat in Bonn.
