BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees remains possible despite existing challenges, the European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra said during a press conference at COP29 today, TurkicWorld reports.
"The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) report on the emissions gap indicates that we are not yet on track to meet the target, but it also clearly shows that technically we can achieve it. This means that the issue we face is political, and it is up to us as negotiators to address this challenge," Hoekstra explained.
According to him, the European Union will continue to lead the fight against climate change and actively participate in negotiations.
"We always come to COP with high ambitions that help us move toward the goals of the Paris Agreement. We are here with the same energy and ambitions to achieve meaningful results," he added.
Speaking about financing, the commissioner emphasized the need to attract private investments through carbon markets and emission pricing systems.
To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.
Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held 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. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.
In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5°C pledge 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 acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for "Conference of Parties" and is the highest legislative body overseeing 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.
