BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 21. Investments in nature and environmental conservation contribute to unlocking new economic opportunities, COP29 President and Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev said at Global Leaders Roundtable: Aligning Climate Action and Biodiversity Conservation for Achieving a Nature-positive Future and the Paris Agreement Goals, TurkicWorld reports.
"Innovative strategies are increasing funding and investment in the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of biodiversity. Through investing in nature-centered solutions, we can unlock economic potential, build resilience, and create the foundation for a sustainable future," he said.
The minister emphasized that a key element of the effort is public-private partnerships to achieve ambitious goals, including transforming and conserving at least 30 percent of land and oceans by 2030, protecting biodiversity, building resilience to climate change, and ensuring sustainable development for future generations.
Babayev also drew attention to the importance of developing a strategy to harmonize initiatives on climate, biodiversity, land, and oceans in national policies.
"These efforts are aimed at achieving the 2030 climate, conservation, and sustainable development goals," he noted.
In addition, the minister noted the necessity to deepen cooperation between the public and private sectors.
"By combining public policy and corporate leadership, we can protect ecosystems and ensure equitable outcomes," he emphasized.
The minister also pointed to the importance of increasing funding for conservation and noted that the private sector should act in harmony with the environment.
According to Babayev, transparent biodiversity monitoring systems play a key role in developing effective conservation measures.
"This is a unique opportunity to address the interlinked crisis of climate and biodiversity in an integrated and transformative approach," the minister stated.
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 Presidency 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.
