Azerbaijan is a successful example for COP31, Director of the Climate Diplomacy Department of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elchin Allahverdiyev stated at the event titled “From Commitments to Implementation: Healthy and Resilient Cities through Climate-City Partnerships,” held in Baku as part of the Fourth Climate Week of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, APA reports.
He stated that Azerbaijan is interested in preserving an important element in the climate agenda of cities: “The availability of finance alone is not sufficient for implementing climate action in cities. Financing for cities and regions must be measurable and predictable and respond to their specific needs. Another important issue is access to that financing. The availability of resources at international financial institutions does not automatically ensure that cities and regions have access to these funds.”
The Foreign Ministry official emphasized that financing should be linked to national plans, national development strategies and governments' local investment priorities: “The capacity of cities and regions to prepare projects to benefit from international financial resources, as well as their institutional capacity, should also be strengthened. International partners, including international financial institutions, should play a role in building the capacity and capabilities of cities and regions.”
Elchin Allahverdiyev noted that cities' climate action should be more broadly represented on international platforms, including at COPs: “Cities are responsible for 70 percent of global emissions. Therefore, their concerns and expectations should be taken into account. The priority given to sustainable cities within COP31 creates a new opportunity to further develop the platform in this direction. It is important to hold discussions among various stakeholders at COP31 around national plans, financing decisions, projects being implemented and projects that need to be implemented. Azerbaijan, as the host country, is interested in keeping this very important element on the agenda.”
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
