Feats and challenges: COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev tackles climate goals

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Nov. 11 to 22, 2024, secured a new climate finance goal to mobilize $300 billion per year to support developing countries in tackling climate change.

The conference also included a Baku-Belém Roadmap to foster international cooperation and increase financial resources for developing countries, with the goal of reaching $1.3 trillion in climate finance by 2035.

Mukhtar Babayev, the COP29 president, now focuses on collaborating with governments, international financial institutions and the private sector to scale up finance and drive implementation.

Babayev was appointed to this position in January 2024, having led Azerbaijan’s delegation to five previous COPs. He has served as Azerbaijan’s minister of ecology and natural resources since 2018. leading national efforts to address historic ecological damage, improve Azerbaijan’s environment and drive climate-positive growth.

Pacific Island Times: What are the key accomplishments made at COP29?

Mukhtar Babayev: COP29 was a critical moment to put in place the means to deliver our collective climate objectives. We worked tirelessly to bring parties together to reach groundbreaking agreements on issues that frustrated previous rounds of negotiations.

The first milestone achieved at COP29 was the conclusion of Article 6 negotiations on carbon markets after a decade of deadlock. The agreement is projected to unlock $1 trillion per year by 2050, which can be channelled to climate projects around the world, including Guam and other small island states.

Furthermore, efficiently matching buyers and sellers could reduce the cost of implementing national climate plans by $250 billion per year. For example, planting a tree in the Congo basin costs less money and absorbs more carbon than planting a tree in Canada. We now have a high-integrity framework to create these markets, and as countries prepare to submit their next generation of national climate plans to cut emissions, carbon markets will be a catalyzing tool.

Second, we delivered the historic Baku Finance Goal – a target to mobilize $300 billion per year from public sources and scale up broader climate finance to $1.3 trillion by 2035 to developing countries. The target triples the previous goal and is the largest finance pledge to ever come from a U.N. process. The increased availability of grants and concessional loans will be particularly significant for small island nations.

PIT: What are the major challenges impeding sustainability and multilateralism?

MB: Looking back, 2024 was one of the most challenging years for multilateral climate action. There were elections in more than 60 countries with 40 percent of the world’s population, causing domestic distractions and political uncertainty. Economies were suffering with high energy prices, rising debt and low growth, meaning the COP29 Presidency had to make the case for investing in climate action amid competing priorities.

Looking ahead to 2025, the global landscape remains complex. Globally, we have seen further cuts to development spending and aid budgets, creating uncertainty as to how climate funding will fare going forward.

However, despite these challenges, we have to uphold our commitments and ensure that the outcomes of COP29 translate into tangible financial support for those who need it to tackle a globally shared challenge, leaving no one behind.

PIT: With the $300 billion pledge in annual climate financing secured for developing nations, what accomplishments do you hope to see by 2035?

MB: First, the COP29 Presidency is proactively working with respective countries to ensure that they fulfil the pledges that they made in Baku and mobilise the promised $300 billion. We need countries to set out clear plans for how they will contribute their fair share towards this target, and when these pledges will be realized.

Second, we still need to achieve a balance between funding for mitigation – reducing emissions and the extent of climate change – and adaptation – preparing for the inevitable effects of a changing climate. We have made progress in recent years, but there is still a long way to go.

We will work with donor countries to ensure that they mobilize concessional public finance for adaptation and take into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.

Third, the Baku Finance Goal made clear calls to action to the global financial community to enhance access and promote the effectiveness of climate finance.

For small island states that do not have large bureaucracies, this means making sure that the processes for accessing climate funds is simple, flexible, and pragmatic. We will therefore work with multilateral development banks and make sure that they address the qualitative elements of the Baku Finance Goal.

And finally, we will work with the Brazilian COP30 Presidency to draw a wider roadmap for how we will scale up finance for developing countries from all public and private sources to at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035. This will require partnerships across all actors, including governments, international financial institutions, the private sector, and other innovative sources of climate finance that address climate change without endangering sustainable development.

PIT: How do you measure the success of programs implemented by individual countries?

MB: Biennial Transparency Reports provide a clear and structured framework for evaluating the effectiveness of national programmes. By fostering transparency, these reports enhance accountability and trust among all participating parties. Furthermore, BTRs enable countries to share best practices, identify areas for improvement and address any gaps, ultimately supporting a more informed and collaborative approach.

5. How do they translate to the global picture?

In the Paris Agreement, we agreed on the principles for an enhanced transparency framework, of which the BTRs are an important element. Recognising that universal coverage of reporting requirements is difficult for many countries, including small island developing states and the least developed countries, the UN system provides extensive support to help build global capacity.

PIT: How will you ensure that funding commitments are fulfilled and translated into real financial support for vulnerable communities?

MB: The COP29 Presidency continues to maintain an active presence on the global stage, keeping climate finance high on the agenda and working to ensure that the promises made in Baku are upheld. We will also work with governments, international financial institutions and the private and philanthropic sector to mobilise the money required to support communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

PIT: Was there any problem in the past when funding commitments didn't come to fruition?

MB: While it was a matter of deep regret that the goal of developed countries to mobilize jointly $100 billion per year by 2020 was not met on schedule, we welcomed the efforts to collectively mobilize over $115 billion by 2022. This was a matter of extensive debate over the last few years and we need to learn the lessons of how we delivered the previous goal to ensure that we deliver the Baku Finance Goal on time and as expected.

PIT: Could you please comment on President Trump’s move to withdraw from the Paris Agreement (again)?

MB: For many decades, the United States has successfully advanced its interests through active engagement in the multilateral system. We do not believe that withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is in its best interest or in the collective interest. Nevertheless, we remain open to engagement with the U.S. and will continue to emphasise the importance of collective action.

PIT: How will the United States’ pullout affect the global efforts to combat climate change?

MB: The U.N. climate process is greater than any single party, and we remain optimistic and committed to making further progress this year. For example, the Baku Finance Goal represents a 10-year target to be delivered by a large number of countries over a period longer than any election cycle.

PIT: The U.S. territories in the Pacific, including Guam, the CNMI and American Samoa, are among the islands deemed vulnerable to the impact of climate change. How will the U.S. withdrawal affect regional or global support for these islands?

MB: While the question of financial support for U.S. territories is for the U.S. government, the COP29 Presidency is committed to ensuring that the cause of small island developing states is central to all climate diplomacy and action and we will continue to advocate for their interests on the global stage as a moral duty for the international community.

PIT: What are the key aspects of the COP29 Presidency’s plan for 2025?

MB: First and foremost, we will be supporting the COP30 Brazilian Presidency as they prepare to bring the world together in Belem. Brazil is taking the weight of the world on its shoulders. We have felt the burden of this responsibility ourselves. And we remember all the support that we received.

Second, we will hold governments to account for their promise in the Baku Finance Goal to mobilize $300 billion a year by 2035 and begin delivery. We will be clear that they must enact the pact they made in Baku.

Third, we will work with Brazil to develop the roadmap to scale up climate finance to $1.3 trillion a year by 2035 with multilateral development banks and the private and philanthropic sectors.

Fourth, we will support countries to produce national climate plans to reduce emissions. These plans will be essential to protecting people from climate change. Furthermore, by sending market signals about the scale of government commitment and priority sectors, they can serve as a green light to green investment.

And finally, we will follow through on all the initiatives that we launched under the COP29 Action Agenda. This will involve focusing attention on the priority areas we identified in the COP29 declarations and pledges, and building partnerships on key initiatives from investment and trade, to human development, agriculture, the energy transition, transparency and peace.

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