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President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: "We welcome fact that Azerbaijan to be awarded right to host such large-scale event as COP29"

10 March 2024 14:15 (UTC +04:00)

"We welcome the fact that Azerbaijan is the first of the Turkic states of the CIS to be awarded the right to host such a large-scale event as COP29," said President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his written interview with APA news agency.

"Of all the challenges we currently face, perhaps the most pressing is climate change. Central Asia is at the forefront of confronting this challenge. Even if we successfully limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, which is looking increasingly unlikely, we will face a temperature rise of 2 to 2.5 degrees Celsius here in Central Asia.

We are concerned about the process of depletion of water resources. Droughts and floods in Central Asia will cause widespread damage and reduce crop yields by 30%, resulting in an estimated 5 million internal climate migrants by 2050. These factors directly or indirectly pose a serious threat to the sustainable development of our states.

As you rightly noted, in order to strengthen the regional process and intensify joint efforts, Kazakhstan has already taken the initiative to hold the Central Asia Regional Climate Summit in 2026, at which we will be glad to see Azerbaijan as one of the main guests.

I believe that this initiative will help advance effective climate policy and facilitate investments that accelerate the transition to sustainable energy in Central Asian countries. The summit will enable the adoption of joint strategies to reduce carbon emissions in the region.

Our country was one of the first in the CIS to launch the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (GTS), which includes large energy, oil and gas, industrial, chemical and mining enterprises. We welcome the fact that Azerbaijan is the first of the Turkic states of the CIS to be awarded the right to host such a large-scale event as COP29. In this sense, we have an excellent opportunity to study the experience of Azerbaijan in holding major environmental events on a global scale, and we are ready to provide the necessary assistance," noted Kazakhstan President.