Aygun Aliyeva, a member of the COP29 Organizing Committee and Executive Director of Azerbaijan’s State Support Agency for NGOs, leads members of various non-state organizations during a press briefing in Nairo on Friday, May 10, 2024. Photo: Barack Oduor.

At a time when Azerbaijan is  preparing to host the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) in November in its capital Baku, civil societies in the country have expressed worry over the drastically changing climatic conditions in Kenya that has occasioned  devastating floods.

The Azerbaijan Organizing Committee members  for COP 29  have been in Nairobi  to collaborate with Kenyan civil societies for climate financing as they are rooting for Kenya and Azerbaijan cooperation in fighting climate change.

Aygun Aliyeva, member of the COP29 Organizing Committee in Azerbaijan and Executive director of the State Support Agency for NGOs of the Republic of Azerbaijan said that it is now clear that proper funding is one of the crucial elements needed to minimize the damage caused by all-natural disasters as this is one of the focuses in this year’s climate meeting.

“Finance mobilization for mitigation, adaptation, loss, and damage will be essential to our efforts. We call all parties involved—countries, international organizations, international financial institutions, and the business sector— to work together in order to defeat this issue,” said Aygun.

The delegation from Azerbaijan expressed concern on the magnitude of deaths and destruction occasioned by floods in Kenya. 

“This tragedy again clearly poses that the climate change effects are a serious threat to the national security, public safety and the ecological sustainability,” And today Azerbaijani NGO’s as an act of friendship will take a part at the “National tree growing day,” said Aygun.

As a COP 29 Presidency country, Azerbaijan has taken action by issuing a presidential declaration stating the year 2024 as the “Green World Solidarity Year.”

According to the delegation, this slogan underlines the country’s commitment to the global fight and places a greater focus on building partnerships at the national, regional, and international levels.

Also, playing a role of a bridge between developing and developed countries.

According to them, the only possible option to win the war against climate change is the unity of all stakeholders(IGO’s, NGO’s and  Private sector).

The key to achieving the consensus in ecological platforms, they argue,  requires  that all voices should be heard and respected, regardless of geography, size and economic status. 

“The best example for this case is the newly enhancing Azerbaijani-Kenian NGO’s cooperation platform. There are a lot of initiatives already.”

The members of the delegation  also included Parvana Valiyeva, a member of the COP29 Organizing Committee in Azerbaijan and Deputy chairman of the “Health Service” Public Union, Amin Mammadov, Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Deputy Chairman of the Public Union Specialists in the Field of Water Use and  Roza Safikhanli,the  deputy chairperson of the ‘Azerbaijan Campaign Against Landmines.’ 

The global climate meeting in Baku will include the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29), the 19th meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 19), and the sixth meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 6) that will convene to complete the first enhanced transparency framework and the new collective quantified goal on finance, among other matters. 

The 61st sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 61) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 61) will also meet.