Transcript of Watch live: First day of COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan

Excellences, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, may I please ask you to take your seats in order for us to begin with the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties, the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol, and the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement. We would like to begin promptly at 11.

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Excellences, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, may I please ask you to take your seats? We are about to begin with the opening ceremony of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties, the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol, and the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement. May I please ask everyone to take their seats?

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Ladies and gentlemen, may I please ask you all to take your seats? We are about to begin. May I please ask you all to take your seats? We are about to begin. Thank you.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, may I kindly request you to get seated so that we may begin the proceedings.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, kindly take your seats.

As we are about to begin. Thank you.

Distinguished delegates, it gives me great pleasure to declare open the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. And it is my honor to address you now to deliver my final remarks as the COP President. Your Excellencies, colleagues, friends and members of every delegation, it is a great pleasure to join you here in Baku for the opening of COP 29. And let me begin by thanking our hosts for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. And allow me to extend my gratitude to every person in this room by being here today. You have all made a choice to make a difference. And as I prepare to hand over the COP Presidency, I urge you all to prove once again that we can unite, act and deliver. Excellencies, friends, we meet at a time of complexity and conflict. And against this backdrop, allow me to say that we in the United Arab Emirates will always choose partnership over polarization, dialog over division, and peace over provocation. Colleagues, it has been my honor to serve as President of COP28. I have been humbled by the experience. And I stand before you today with a deep sense of purpose, pride and gratitude.

By delivering the historic, comprehensive, balanced and groundbreaking UAE consensus, we accomplished what many thought was impossible. And for this, I have many people to thank. I want first to acknowledge His Highness, Sheik Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Hayyan. President, President of the United Arab Emirates, whose vision, guidance and unwavering support gave us the confidence to aim for the highest ambition. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the entire United Arab Emirates leadership and in particular the Higher committee led by His Highness Sheik Abdallah Bin Zayed AN Hayyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign affairs of the UAE. I would also like to acknowledge COP28 advisory committee, our ministerial peers, all constituency groups, the NGO community and of course the entire COP 2018. And let me recognize the tireless efforts of our high level champion, Razan Al Mubarak and our youth champion Shamma Al Mazroy. I would also like to thank my dear colleague Simon Steele and the UNFC Secretariat who served as my faithful guides throughout this whole process. And of course to all of you, the negotiators here today, I thank you for showing the world what real, tangible progress looks like. You united all parties to move forward.

Together, you proved that multilateralism can move the dialog. In the end, determination conquered doubt and your hard work paid off with the first after first for climate progress. And progress didn't end when the gavel came down on the UAE consensus. In the months since the COP28, the initiatives we launched have gathered real momentum and real pace. The world is set to break another record at renewable energy growth this year, adding over 500 gigawatt to global capacity. 55 companies have now joined the Oil and Gas Decarbonization charter, committing to zero methane emissions by 2030 and net zero by or before 2050. This initiative is pragmatic, practical and focused on real results. With participants from China, India, Russia, the US, the EU and the Arabian Gulf. The OGDC now covers more than 44% of global production. It is the most meaningful and comprehensive private sector partnership on decarbonization to date. And we look forward to more companies joining this very important initiative. And in the spirit of proactive collaboration, earlier this month in Abu Dhabi, we convened experts in climate, energy, artificial intelligence, finance and investment in an integrated effort to drive low carbon growth. When sectors work together, we can lift economies and lower emissions.

We can make climate and socioeconomic progress together at the same time. And we can turn declarations on paper into decisive action on the ground. Excellencies, colleagues, the critical success factor for all climate progress is finance. We continue to call on all sources, public and private, to make finance more available, more accessible, more affordable. Altera, the world's largest global catalytic climate fund that was launched at COP28, has now placed 6.5 billion of its US$30 billion fund with partners focused on mature, emerging and developing markets. These investments are attracting additional capital in a unique blended model that should be built on. We have also made progress on the Loss and damage fund. US$853 million have been pledged to date. And we named the Philippines as the host country for the board. And let me call on every party who can to contribute. And at this cop, the finance cop, I urge all parties to deliver a new collective, quantified goal that is robust and capable of fully implementing the UAE consensus. Excellencies. At COP28 we broke new ground and set many precedents. One of the most important precedents was the COP presidency. Stroika, a new mechanism for momentum that creates a bridge between cops 28, 29 and 30.

Detroit is mobilizing every multilateral platform from the UN to the G20 to solidify the legacy of the UAE consensus. It is the roadmap for keeping 1.5 within reach and aligned with the science. And it is up to all parties to drive and deliver it. Colleagues, partners and my dear friends, the consensus we achieved in Dubai was truly historic. Yet history will judge us by our actions, not by our words. And my dear friend Mokhtar, as I pass the gavel to you, I want you to know that you have my friendship, my partnership and my full support. And if I may, let me leave you with some final words of brotherly advice. Let positivity prevail and let it power the process. Let actions speak louder than words. Let results outlast the rhetoric and remember, we are what we do, not what we say. On behalf of Myself and the Cop 2018, it has been my honor to serve. I have faith that cop 29 here in Azerbaijan will be another great success together. And as your slogan says, let us act on solidarity for a green world. Let us focus on collaboration and partnership. And let us show the world that we have the determination to unite, the responsibility to act and the will to deliver.

I thank you.

For centuries we've gathered to discuss and solve our most pressing challenges. United for the betterment of our people.

The world is watching. We don't have time to waste. We must address this challenge head on.

At COP28, the UAE welcomed world leaders, business leaders and thought leaders from nearly 200 nations to come together as one and change the course of history.

We must recognize the common language we must speak of and it's one of unity, of inclusion, love and empowerment.

For months we worked nonstop and moved from talk to action, ushering in a new era of climate action.

We have delivered history. Today, the first time a decision has been adopted on day one.

The UAE Consensus began as an impossible dream. But look where our dreams have taken us.

It is an enhanced, balanced, but make no mistake, historic package to accelerate climate action. It is the UAE Consensus.

Through the Presidential action agenda, we found global solutions to global problems.

We are anchoring nature as an existential.

Ally in our efforts to address climate change and advance development.

As the world gathers together day in Aeran we stand together with hope renewed. And as we hand over to COP 29, we must remember what it symbolizes. The simple truth that drives us forwards.

We are what we do not what we say.

We are what we do, not what we say.

Dear delegates, I'd like to invite you to turn to sub item 2A of document cpu/2024/1/ Add to election of the President of the Conference of the parties at its 29th session. In accordance with Rule 22, paragraph 1 of the draft Rules of Procedure being applied, the Office of the President of the Conference of the Parties is subject to rotation among the five regional groups. We continue the cycle with the President from the Eastern European states. And I am honored to propose that the Conference elects by acclamation His Excellency Mukhtar Babayev, who will serve as President of the conference at its 29th session. It gives me great pleasure to declare His Excellency Mukhtar Babayev elected President of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties. I congratulate His Excellency Babaev on his election. Allow me again to wish you every success in guiding the work of this conference. I would like to now invite His Excellency Babaev to take his seat at the podium.

Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear friends, welcome to azerbaijan. Welcome to COP 29. It is wonderful to finally see you all here as we complete the first decade after the Paris Agreement. The COP 29 presidency is deeply grateful to all the parties, constituencies, observers, civil society members, indigenous peoples and committed climate actors. Joining us today, we will host this conference in an inclusive, transparent and party driven manner. And we are delighted to offer Azerbaijani hospitality, show you our national heritage and natural wonders. We hope to build new friendships based on sincerity, frankness and mutual respect. We would like to thank the President of the Republic of azerbaijan, His Excellency, Mr. Ilham Ali, for his active leadership and support for the COP 29 team and the people of Azerbaijan who have worked day and night to welcome you. Tuvaku. We also want to thank all our colleagues in the NFCCC and executive secretary Mr. Simon Steele for the support and thank you to My dear friend, COP 28 president, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber. For you. For you and your team's collaboration, it is an honor to take the gavel from you. As we build on the UAE consensus together, ladies and gentlemen, we must be totally honest.

The UN environmental program shows that current policies are leading us to three degrees of warming. These temperatures would be catastrophic for billions. They would threaten the existence of community representatives. In this room, colleagues were on the road to ruin. But these are not the future problems. Climate change is already here. From flooded homes in Spain to forest fires in Australia, from rising oceans in the Pacific to barren plains in East Africa. Whether you see them or not, people are suffering in the shadows. They are dying in the dark. And they need more than compassion, more than prayers and paperwork. And they're crying out for leadership and action. COP 29 is an unmissable moment to chart a new path forward for everyone. The COP 29 presidency has worked tirelessly to beat the foundation for success. We have traveled the world to see the challenges you face. And we are resolved to produce an ambitious and balanced package that delivers on all mandates and takes the first global stocktake forward. We have made every effort to bring you together and build momentum. We have hosted political and technical sessions here in Azerbaijan and we are already collaborating with you on the COP 29 Action Agenda and presidency initiatives.

But we need much more from all of you. When I want to be crystal clear about our expectations. Our plan is based on two pillars to enhance ambition and enable action. This means setting out clear climate plans and delivering the finance we need. These two pillars are mutually reinforcing, each sending a strong signal to the other. Because as we mobilize climate finance, we allow for high ambitions. And as we signal together higher ambition, we build trust to unlock greater financial commitments. Dear colleagues, to enable action. The COP 29 presidency's top priority is to agree a fair and ambitious new collective quantified goal on climate finance. This must be effective and adequate to the scale and urgency of the problem. It must address the needs and priorities of developing countries, including seeds and LDCs. And it must include detailed qualitative elements. We have seen some progress on access, futures, transparency and the 10 year timeframe. We know the needs we know that we need are in trillions. But there are different views on how to achieve that. We have also heard that the realistic goal for what the public sector can directly provide and mobilize seems to be the hundreds of billions the COP 29 presidency has made every effort to bring the parties close together.

But we still have much to do and just 12 days to land a deal. We now urgently need to finalize the elements, resolve our differences on contributors and quantum and set the new goal. These negotiations are complex and difficult. We understand the political and financial constraints. But let me make two points. First, these numbers may sound big, but they are nothing compared to cost of inaction, disinvestment, pay off. And second, we are all in this together. Nothing has a greater impact on the security, prosperity and well being of all nations than climate change. Let us remember how a goal has helps us. It will send a strong signal to financial markets, provide greater certainty for long term planning, build trust and momentum for collective action and hold us all to account. This goal is not a burden, it is an opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, we must invest today to save tomorrow. Their colleagues were also determined to get Article 6 in high integrity carbon markets over the line. Article 6 is long overdue and will help ensure the protecting the planet pace. By matching buyers and sellers efficiently. Such markets could reduce the cost of implementing indices by $250 billion a year.

In a world where every dollar counts, that is essential. We now need parties to show commitment and flexibility to resolve all outstanding issues. Dear colleagues, throughout COP 29 there will be many moments to enable action. At the last board meeting in Baku, we took historic steps to get the loss and damage fund up and running. It is now time to turn existing pledges into contributions and add significantly greater amounts to all funds. This is essential to supporting the communities most affected, including the seeds and LDCs. And enabling action is about more than just finance. We must also accelerate work to develop and transfer technology. These are life saving tools that must be available to all. So we need to deliver on the technology implementation program. Here in Baku, within the COP 29 action agenda, we have opportunities for governments, the private sector, multilateral development banks and everybody, everyone to play your part. Ladies and gentlemen, enabling action will create the means to reach our goals. A 1.5 aligned and resilient world. But we still need to define the ways to get there. First, we need to enhance ambition in the next round of indices. These plans are the last chance to put the world on track and they should be informed by the first global stocktake.

We are grateful to everyone who has already committed to producing 1.5 aligned indices. We need to get this right and we need to get it done on time. Including transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just and orderly manner, taking into account different national circumstances, pathways and approaches. Dear colleagues, as the world's highest climate forum, COP 29 cannot and will not be silent on mitigation. Alongside with the International Energy Agency, we have today published calls to action in a just and orderly transition. We are calling on all parties to increase global energy storage by six times by 2030. We are addressing forgotten issues such as food waste, which accounts for almost 10% of global emissions. We are co hosting a methane summit with the US and China. And we have put mitigation on the agenda at all meetings ahead of hope to find a way forward as a presidency. We are making every effort to attack the problem from every direction without losing focus on our top negotiation priority, the ncqg. Dear colleagues, adaptation has not been given the same attention as mitigation. Azerbaijan understands the need to adapt because our region faces significant challenges.

The Caspian Sea is shrinking and we face glacier retreat and freshwater loss in Caucasus. The timely submission of national adaptation plans is critical. They guide how we share best practice, transfer technology and support each other. We need them by 2025 so we can make progress by 2030. We will also support the work on indicators for the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. When adaptation is underfunded, people on the front lines are unprotected. Public money will be essential to enabling ambitions. This is our last chance to scale it up significantly beyond the doubling target for 2025 and after adaptation. Finance must be an important part of ncqg. Transparency must underpin everything. The first binary transparency reports are critical and must be submitted this year. Azerbaijan is already is ready to submit its BTR and we would like to thank everyone for their submissions so far. Dear colleagues, we must also address important thematic areas within the climate plans. They must be age and gender responsive and we support the Lima Work Program and its Gender action plan. The COP 29 action agenda has identified further priorities for all actors to enhance their ambition. Ladies and gentlemen, when we consider the latest science and everything that we must deliver from the NCQG to the next generation of NDCs and the first BTRs, COP 29 is a moment of truth for the Paris Agreement.

It will test our commitment to the multilateral climate system. We must now demonstrate that we are prepared to meet the goals we have set ourselves. This is not easy. We're setting these expectations because we believe they are absolutely necessary. This is a race of our lives and we have previously agreed to always ratchet up our action to the highest possible level levels of ambition. This means that we must do today that yesterday we thought was impossible. Azerbaijan, stand ready. It is our moral Duty and part of our common responsibility. And this is a critical opportunity for sustainable development. Azerbaijan is determined to step up to the biggest issues on the biggest stages and lead by example. We have beaten to odds before. People have doubted us. Let us prove them wrong. But no single country or initiative can solve this crisis. This is everyone's conference. Success or failure will be collective. So our message to you is this. Azerbaijan can build a bridge, but you all need to walk across it. In fact, we need to start running. Dear friends, we gather as representatives of different communities. But we must never forget our common humanity, our shared world and the mutual benefits of collaboration.

And in this fight, we must remember that every action matters, because every fraction of a decree matters. Every home we lose is failure. Every life we save is a victory. And everyone is watching and they are waiting. Africa is waiting. Asia is waiting. Europe is waiting. The Pacific is waiting. North America is waiting. South America is waiting. The Caribbean is waiting. Ladies and gentlemen, they are waiting for us to show leadership and they cannot afford the cost of delay. So let us enhance ambition and enable action. Let us move forward in solidarity for a green world and let us go to work. Thank you. This November, over 100 world leaders will assemble in Baku to tackle the most pressing issue of our time, climate change.

COP 29 will be the biggest event of this year.

We need to have this ambitious climate actions by countries in the world.

This is our common challenge and we need to address it now. As a host country, we have very unique opportunity to be the center of the discussions, to be the bridge between south and north, between the developing and developed countries. Azerbaijan is investing in the energy transition because we are affected by climate change, because we want to diversify away from hydrocarbons.

Definitely green energy transition is really backbone.

Of tackling the climate crisis that we are facing.

Our country has always been a home of innovation. We have a young, highly educated population that deeply cares about climate change.

Any visitor, any tourist, any delegate who who will be visiting our beautiful city will see welcoming attitude behavior from everyone. The ultimate objective is to deliver the best visitor journey ever.

I think it will be a very good demonstration of our hospitality, our culture, our nature. We want people to look back and.

Say that cop 29 in Baku was.

A defining chapter in humanity's fight against climate change. COP 29 is really the great event for Azerbaijan, for the world. It is very good demonstration how we decide to live together with our neighbors. At the same time how we can assist the developing countries to protect themselves from the climate change. This November, Azerbaijan will bring the world together at COP 29 for a better future for all humanity. Distinguished delegates, friends, dear colleagues, it is my pleasure to invite Simon Steele, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, to address the plenary. Simon, you have the floor.

Excellencies, delegates, colleagues, friends, it is an honor to welcome you to COP 29. I thank Dr. Sultan Al Jaber and the Emirati presidency for their tireless work as they pass the baton to President Babiev and Azerbaijan. In tough times, up against difficult tasks, I don't go in for hopes and dreams. What inspires me is human ingenuity and determination. Our ability to get knocked down and to get up again over and over again, until we accomplish our goals. The lady I'm standing with this picture is my neighbor, Florence, in Karaku in July this year. This was us standing in all that remained of her home after the devastation of Hurricane Beryl. At 85, Florence has become one of the millions of victims of runaway climate change. This year alone, she was focused on one thing. Being strong for her family and strong for her community. And there are people like Florence in every country on Earth, knocked down and getting back up again. This UNF Triple C process is the only place we have to address the rampant climate crisis and to credibly hold each other to account to act on it. And we know this process is working because without it, humanity would be headed towards 5 degrees of global warming.

In these halls, we negotiate on specific pieces of the puzzle. Each year, it can feel far away from what's happening in Florence's living room. We cannot afford to continue upending lives and livelihoods in every nation. So let's make this real. Do you want your grocery and energy bills to go up even more? Do you want your country to become economically uncompetitive? Do you really want even further global instability costing precious life? This crisis is affecting every single individual in the world one way or another. And I am as frustrated as anyone that one single cop can't deliver the full transformation that every nation needs. But if any of your answers to those questions was no, then it is here that parties need to agree a way out of this mess. That's why we're here in Baku. We must agree a new global climate finance goal. If at least two thirds of the world's nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price. If nations can't build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune. So let's dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity.

An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self interest of every single nation, including the largest and the wealthiest. But it's not enough to just agree on a goal. We must work harder to reform the global financial system, giving countries the fiscal space they so desperately need. And here in Baku, we must get international carbon markets up and running. By finalizing Article 6. We need to move on mitigation so targets from Dubai are realized. We mustn't let 1.5 slip out of reach. And even as temperatures rise, the implementation of our agreements must claw them back. Clean energy and infrastructure investment will reach $2 trillion in 2024, almost twice that of fossil fuels. The shift to clean energy and climate resilience will not be stopped. Our job is to accelerate this and make sure its huge benefits shared by all countries and all people. We must agree adaptation targets. You can't manage what you don't measure. And we need to know if we're on a pathway to increasing resilience. And we must continue to improve the new mechanisms for financial and technical support, loss and damage. We can't make decisions in the dark. Biennial transparency reports due this year will give us a clearer picture of the progress we're making and the gaps that we need to fill.

This year, all countries will deliver their third generation of national climate plans. NBC's to support countries in creating and communicating them, the UNFCCC will launch a climate plan campaign. It will mobilize action from all stakeholders and align with the efforts of the UN Secretary General and the incoming Brazilian COP presidency. In parallel, we'll restart climate weeks from 2025, aligning them more closely with our process and the outcomes it must deliver. As a secretariat, we'll continue to work tirelessly with what we have got, while being clear on what funding we need so we can deliver on what's increasingly being asked of us. And we will keep focus on the safe, inclusive, meaningful participation of all observers at this cop. In the past few years, we've taken some historic steps forward. We cannot leave Baku without a substantial outcome. Appreciating the importance of this moment, parties must act accordingly. Show determination and ingenuity here at cop 29. We need all parties to push for agreement right from the start, to stand and deliver. Now is the time to show that global cooperation is not down for the count. It is rising to the moment. So I urge you all, let us rise together.

I thank you.

Thank you, Simon. Delegates, we will now suspend the session for final consultations on the adoption of the agenda. We will resume shortly.

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