COP29 begins in Baku

COP29, the 29th Conference of the Parties, opened on Monday with calls for urgent and united global action as leaders and experts highlighted the worsening climate crisis and the need for immediate action to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Addressing the gathering, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell underscored the need for resilience and determination, recalling his neighbor Florence, an 85-year-old climate victim, as a symbol of humanity’s tenacity in the face of escalating environmental impacts.

Stiell emphasized the necessity of establishing a new global climate finance goal and a functional international carbon market to combat climate change. “If at least two-thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price,” he said, noting that climate finance should be viewed as a self-interested investment rather than charity.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo issued a “red alert” over rising temperatures, as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history. She described recent extreme weather events as “our new reality” and stressed that every fraction of warming increases risks worldwide. The latest WMO report revealed that 2023’s greenhouse gas levels are at record high, accelerating sea-level rise and extreme weather events across the globe.

New COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev of Azerbaijan urged attendees to see COP29 as a “moment of truth” for the Paris Agreement, highlighting that climate impacts are already evident in events like hurricanes, droughts and floods. “We are on the road to ruin,” he warned, calling for tangible leadership beyond rhetoric.

Nepal’s delegation under President Ramchandra Paudel will advocate for climate finance to support vulnerable mountain regions facing disasters such as glacial outbursts. 

The conference aims to address key issues, including setting climate finance targets, finalizing international carbon trading mechanisms, and increasing adaptation efforts. As COP29 unfolds, developing countries like Nepal are pushing for decisive measures to protect vulnerable communities and ecosystems from climate impacts.