2024-07-30 08:06:45
Azerbaijan, which will host the COP29 climate summit this year, will raise its national emissions reduction targets ahead of the event.
This was reported by Day.Az with reference to the British agency Reuters.
Next year, all countries must raise their national climate targets as part of the UN system designed to help the world get off the path to severe climate change. Only a handful of countries are expected to raise their targets this year. By deciding to do so early, Azerbaijan aims to push others to take action.
“We plan to announce this at least partially, if not completely, before the COP starts. We are sending a signal to others to follow our example,” said Elnur Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister and COP29 CEO.
Speaking at an event in Brussels, Soltanov did not specify what the new target would be. But he said it would be consistent with preventing global warming and reflect the agreements reached at last year’s COP28 climate summit.
Among these agreements was the world’s first agreement between countries to transition away from fossil fuels.
Today, Azerbaijan’s energy comes almost entirely from fossil fuels, although the government is seeking to expand its use of renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Caucasus republic’s current climate target is to cut emissions by 35% by 2030 and 40% by 2050.
Despite existing climate commitments by countries, CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels reached a record level last year.
Soltanov said Azerbaijan’s new target would cover all sectors of the economy and emissions of all types of greenhouse gases, such as methane.
The main goal of COP29, which will take place in Baku in November, is to agree on a new target amount that rich countries will pay to poor countries to help them cope with the effects of climate change.