BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 11. The Azerbaijani government has pledged to bring children to the forefront of climate policy by signing the Declaration on Children, Youth, and Climate Action at the start of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), TurkicWorld reports.
The signing ceremony included participation from the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, COP29 Youth Climate Champion Leyla Hasanova, high-ranking government officials, as well as children and youth from Azerbaijan.
UNICEF welcomes the commitments made by the government of Azerbaijan through the signing of this declaration. Thus, this declaration represents the first global and local framework to accelerate inclusive climate policies and actions aimed at children and youth.
Climate change is having a profound impact on children's health, development, safety, and access to basic services. About one billion children—that is, half of the world's child population—live in one of the 33 countries that are at "extreme risk" of climate change impacts and pollution.
"Today we reaffirm once again Azerbaijan's commitment to the climate process, which is important for children and youth," said Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and President of COP29.
"We encourage everyone to think about how climate action can help create a more sustainable future for children and youth," he added.
"It is important that we put children at the center of climate change policy and invest in solutions to protect them from the impacts of climate change," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
"Azerbaijan's signing of this declaration is the next step in putting children at the center of the climate agenda," she said.
UNICEF also urged other countries to sign the declaration and commit to protecting children from the worsening effects of climate change.
To support the implementation of the declaration, UNICEF is working with governments and partners to adapt and strengthen existing systems, such as education, social protection, and health care, that are important for children. The aim is to make these services resilient to climate change and able to respond to the impact.
To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) opened today in Baku and will continue until November 22. The event is the largest organized by Azerbaijan to date and, for the first time, is being held in the region of Azerbaijan.
The highest level event, the summit of world leaders on climate action, will be held within COP29 on November 12-13.
The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.
In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, the creation of climate finance will also contribute to meeting the 1.5°C commitment by bringing everyone together.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The abbreviation COP (Conference of Parties) in English means "Conference of Parties." It is the highest legislative body controlling the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
