BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 12. COP29 is a very timely event for two reasons, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Francesco La Camera said at the ministerial dialogue themed "Scaling up Investment for Tripling Renewables and Doubling Energy Efficiency" within COP29 in Baku today, TurkicWorld reports.
"First, to demonstrate political commitment to new financial goals; the important thing is not the quantity, but the signal that the commitments are unwavering. It’s also important because this is the last COP before the new NDC (Nationally Distributed Contyributions) addition. We hope for clear and concrete recommendations for a historic outcome that will give member countries benchmarks.
Clearly, we are moving toward a new energy system that will largely be based on renewables, complemented by green additives and sustainable use of biomass. No one can stop this process. The question is whether we will be on time in the fight against climate change.
We have built infrastructure for a centralized system based on fossil fuels for 100 years, and now, through NDCs and other commitments, we must overcome structural barriers to adding more renewables to the grids.
First and foremost, we need flexible, balanced, and interconnected networks. Someone needs to prioritize this, and multilateral financial institutions must understand this," he explained.
"IRENA worked closely with the COP28 presidency last year. We provided analysis and assessments based on the 'Troika' principles and also facilitated agreements and commitments from countries to join the initiative. A week ago, at the pre-COP, we presented our report alongside the 'Troika' and the Global Renewable Energy Alliance.
Yesterday, we presented our forecast. I must say, based on my experience, we tried to prepare conclusions across all chapters in such a way that negotiators could use these elements and recommendations to achieve a final agreement at this COP," he added.
The opening ceremony of the much-anticipated COP29 conference has kicked off on November 11 at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
Representatives, leaders, and climate experts from around the globe gathered to mark the beginning of what is set to be one of the largest climate events of the year.
The decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan was made at the COP28 plenary session held in Dubai on December 11 of last year.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in June 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, aims to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. The "COP" (Conference of the Parties) is the highest governing body responsible for overseeing the convention’s implementation.
A total of 198 countries participate in the convention. Unless otherwise agreed, COP is held annually. The first COP took place in Berlin in March 1995, with its secretariat headquartered in Bonn.
