Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency ‘pivotal’ in rebuilding trust between global north and south

Azerbaijan’s COP presidency is pivotal in rebuilding trust and alignment between the global north and south through a new climate financing target sustained by developed countries, Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources, COP29 President-Designate, said in an interview with Forbes, News.Az reports.

“Azerbaijan is at the crossroads between the East and West, and South. That’s why we would like to be the bridge between the developing and developed world,” he says.

“We must demonstrate that the world is ready to work together to support each other,” he asserts, expressing frustration with recent challenges achieving consensus among nations. “This is a very critical time, not only for Azerbaijan but for the entire world, to find solutions.”

With climate adaptation in developing countries requiring up to 18 times current contributions— at least 50% more than was previously thought—Babayev is adamant that the private sector has a critical role to play.

“The private sector is one of the big sources of possible investments, and we would like to provide all necessary platforms to motivate them to be part of the solution,” he says. “How to do this is the subject of negotiations, but transparency is very important here, because markets, countries, and the private sector want to see transparency.”

As COP29 approaches, Mukhtar Babayev emphasizes: without a foundation of trust and collaboration, the global effort to limit warming to 2°C could falter.

“For our country, I think we would like to provide inclusivity,” says the president-designate of his hopes for the climate summit in November. “We want to show how the world is ready to come together for this climate agenda. It is very important to find solutions to financial issues and discuss critical topics like water issues, land degradation, green agriculture, green skills, food security, green urban projects and more. Azerbaijan aims to build this platform for all countries to see how the world can organize a very constructive dialogue. We invite all stakeholders to attend.”