Azerbaijan will host the COP29 climate conference in November. As preparations are underway, Azerbaijani officials are meeting with partners and holding “listening tours” to understand the issues that world leaders, agencies and communities want to address. In addition to the focus on financing climate change, water issues will likely be high on the agenda – and Washington will be an important partner in the planning stages. An Azerbaijani delegation led by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources and President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev visited Washington, DC, in April. The delegation meetings included a visit to John Kerry, former US presidential special envoy for climate, at the Azerbaijani embassy in the US capital. The Azerbaijani delegation also participated in the activities of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Spring meetings. At an event organized in March by AxiosJohn Podesta, the president’s senior adviser on international climate policy (who replaced Kerry), explained that “we must continue this momentum…particularly to provide the global financing that will be needed to help developing economies make the transition “.
Although the full COP29 agenda has not been released, Baku has outlined its vision for the summit. At the Bonn Climate Change Conference in mid-June, Babayev, president-designate of COP29 explained the summit’s five initial priority areas: covering human capital, agriculture, urban environment, energy storage and finance, and investment and trade. Climate change financing will be high on the agenda, as Azerbaijan aims to secure a “fair and ambitious new climate finance target, finalize Article 6, strengthen global financial institutions and ensuring that the private sector is engaged in climate action.” Babaev said. As for specific challenges, water security is expected to be one of the focus areas of the event. Access to water will be one of the determining factors of cooperation or conflict in the 21st century, as climate change, environmental destruction, greater dependence on high-energy industries Water consumption, population growth and interstate tensions make access to this vital resource even more difficult. important than gold.
A COP conference in the Caucasus means that environmental issues, including water-related issues affecting the Caucasus and Central Asia, can be at the forefront of discussions. Central Asia experienced a drought during the summer of 2021 and regional water bodies, namely the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, are at risk of disappearing. “We are strongly feeling the impact of climate change because the level (of the Caspian) is falling, and… we are witnessing it every day. For me, it is a sign of the fragility of the environment around us,” said Nigar Arpadarai, high-level UN champion on climate change for COP29. Neighboring Iran, known worldwide for its authoritarian regime, has also lack of water – due to population growth, pollution, poor water management and the treatment of ethnic groups as second-class citizens – which will worsen in the years to come.
Other regions of the world also suffer from water shortage. On May 8, the United Nations Environment Program published an interview with Harald Egerer, head of the UNEP office in Vienna. Egerer explained how the Carpathian region, a mountain range running through several central and eastern European states, “has become warmer over the past 50 years,” causing “heat waves, droughts, erratic precipitation and more frequent and more intense floods. Drought increases the risk of forest fires and pest infestations in the Carpathians. Elsewhere in Europe, countries like Italy and Spain continues to cope with droughts. The European Union has taken note of the controversial opinion to “set aside a plan to strengthen the European Union’s resilience to droughts and floods”. explains Politico Europe.
As for the Western Hemisphere, Colombia, Costa RicaEcuador and Mexico are also currently experiencing droughts. Lack of rain affects energy production in many countries. So, not only is there a shortage of water, but electricity rationing programs are also in effect. It is therefore mandatory to focus on water-related issues at COP 29. For the record, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan’s Caspian neighbor, will co-organize the A summit on the water with France at the United Nations Annual General Assembly next September. The fact that the summit takes place two months before COP29 in Baku means that water will be widely discussed at high-level events this year. Let us hope that the conference will conclude with a “blue agreement” on water.
On the other hand, some countries have too much water due to rising water levels. Last May, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with the Governor General of Tuvalu, the Prime Minister of Tonga and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas. Islands in the Pacific, Caribbean (and Maldives) are at risk of dispersal due to rising sea levels.
It is not yet clear whether nuclear energy will be a major theme at COP29, but it will likely be discussed. While nuclear power is a viable alternative to more polluting energy industries, nuclear power can also pose problems if the facilities are not well managed. Additionally, the geopolitics of nuclear energy must also be considered, given the tense relations between world powers at present. In December 2023, Armenia and Russia signed a contract to modernize the Metsamor in Armenia Nuclear plant (NPP), which will operate until 2036. This is problematic because the contract will ensure that Armenia remains within Russia’s sphere of influence. In addition, for several years, concerns have been expressed regarding the radioactive waste from the factorywhich could affect neighboring settlements and agricultural lands.
Unfortunately, the increasingly fragmented and violent global (dis)order means that Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency will have the monumental task of convincing global state and industry leaders to put their differences aside and focus on cooperation. and environmental protection, including on financing and the fight against climate change. water problems. Support from Washington will be vital if Baku has any chance of achieving this almost impossible goal, given the current global geopolitical climate.
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