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Nicolas Svenningsen, Manager for Climate Action Outreach at UNFCCC (left), Romania’s representative Alina Alexander (center), and Enrique Maurtua Konstantinidis, Senior Consultant on Climate Change Policy (right) speaking to Rudaw on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - With increasing temperatures, floods, and droughts, country leaders and heads of states gather in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP29 to address financial obstacles, barring most vulnerable countries limit the impacts of natural disasters caused by climate change.
“We hope to have a very good progress with the negotiations. We hope that our 198 parties and 4,000 observers will come together and agree on the way forward on important climate work, especially on finance but also mitigation and many other climate-related issues” said Nicolas Svenningsen, Manager for Climate Action Outreach at UNFCCC.
The target of COP29 is to monetize poor nations with $100 billion a year based on a 2009 agreement that has failed to meet its goals. Many poor nations believe the target needs to be over a $1 trillion per year.
“The most prominent one is to agree on a new financing target to help climate action all over the world. And to also continuing the work on mitigation to help parties, all countries reduce their gas emissions.”Svenningsen added.
Leaders and heads of states of more than 190 countries are attending this year’s conference, including the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.
The conference of this year also oversees the oil-rich countries hit with severe impacts of climate change.
Among them is Iraq which is the fifth most vulnerable country to water, food shortages, and extreme temperatures, according to the United Nations Global Environment Outlook.
"For a country like Iraq, we want to see more climate action to get with the government and more support to the Iraqi society to take action that makes sense.” Svenningsen added, believing that countries as affected as Iraq need strong support and collaboration from international community.
“My expectation is that the future will look good. Long term, not only tomorrow or two days, is going to look good," said, Romania’s representative Alina Alexander.
Another ambition of the COP29 is to push countries for a commitment to the 1.5-degree threshold that was agreed upon in the Paris Agreement in 2015.
The agreement works to limit global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, and "pursue efforts" to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
“We hope to have a very good progress with the negotiations. We hope that our 198 parties and 4,000 observers will come together and agree on the way forward on important climate work, especially on finance but also mitigation and many other climate-related issues” said Nicolas Svenningsen, Manager for Climate Action Outreach at UNFCCC.
The target of COP29 is to monetize poor nations with $100 billion a year based on a 2009 agreement that has failed to meet its goals. Many poor nations believe the target needs to be over a $1 trillion per year.
“The most prominent one is to agree on a new financing target to help climate action all over the world. And to also continuing the work on mitigation to help parties, all countries reduce their gas emissions.”Svenningsen added.
Leaders and heads of states of more than 190 countries are attending this year’s conference, including the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.
The conference of this year also oversees the oil-rich countries hit with severe impacts of climate change.
Among them is Iraq which is the fifth most vulnerable country to water, food shortages, and extreme temperatures, according to the United Nations Global Environment Outlook.
"For a country like Iraq, we want to see more climate action to get with the government and more support to the Iraqi society to take action that makes sense.” Svenningsen added, believing that countries as affected as Iraq need strong support and collaboration from international community.
Despite the challenges ahead, heads from 48 countries are absent, including global economy powerhouses such as the United States and China.
The US has sent a delegation to be present at the discussions, but it is anticipated that the financial commitments made by the current administration will be dismissed by the president elect Donald Trump who does not endorse initiatives aimed at addressing climate change.
The G20 countries, including China and the US, are accounting for an estimated 77 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
But many experts maintain high expectations at the COP29, believing that this year’s conference "decides how the future looks like."
The US has sent a delegation to be present at the discussions, but it is anticipated that the financial commitments made by the current administration will be dismissed by the president elect Donald Trump who does not endorse initiatives aimed at addressing climate change.
The G20 countries, including China and the US, are accounting for an estimated 77 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
But many experts maintain high expectations at the COP29, believing that this year’s conference "decides how the future looks like."
“My expectation is that the future will look good. Long term, not only tomorrow or two days, is going to look good," said, Romania’s representative Alina Alexander.
Another ambition of the COP29 is to push countries for a commitment to the 1.5-degree threshold that was agreed upon in the Paris Agreement in 2015.
The agreement works to limit global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, and "pursue efforts" to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
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