The Baku Climate Action Week has commenced in Azerbaijan’s capital as a prelude to the upcoming 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The event, running from 30 September to 4 October, aims to gather governments, businesses, and climate activists to address issues that will be discussed at the COP19 UN summit in November. The main goal of the week-long event is to bring together policymakers, private sector leaders, sustainability experts, and civil society representatives to discuss the urgent need for climate action.
Representatives from Azerbaijan are advocating for more climate finance as part of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015. Elnur Soltanov, the Chief Executive Officer of COP29 and Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Energy, emphasized the critical importance of finance in keeping the Paris Agreement intact. Without adequate funding, the global climate architecture may not be able to effectively address the issue of rising global temperatures. Panelists from various sectors, including representatives from the fossil fuel industry such as British Petroleum and the Azerbaijan state oil company, have been invited to participate in discussions during the event.
The organizers of the Baku Climate Action Week aim to create a diverse dialogue with the participation of key stakeholders from different sectors. By including voices from both the public and private sectors, the event seeks to highlight the importance of making climate action financially viable. Soltanov emphasized the need to make climate action profitable in order to effectively combat the climate crisis. With another record-breaking summer and autumn marked by heatwaves and devastating storms, the urgency for immediate action on climate change is growing.
As the world faces the escalating impacts of climate change, events like the Baku Climate Action Week play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and driving meaningful change. By bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders, from government officials to business leaders and climate activists, the event provides a platform for sharing ideas, discussing challenges, and exploring solutions to combat climate change. The focus on climate finance and the underlying goal of making climate action profitable highlight the importance of sustainable and economically viable solutions in addressing the climate crisis.
The ongoing discussions at the Baku Climate Action Week underscore the pressing need for countries to prioritize climate action and work towards achieving the targets set out in the Paris Agreement. With global temperatures on the rise and extreme weather events becoming more frequent and severe, the urgency for decisive action has never been greater. By engaging with a wide range of actors and promoting dialogue on climate finance, the event aims to catalyze concrete actions that will help mitigate the impacts of climate change and build a more sustainable future for all.
