COP29 Presidency hosts “Dialogue on Enabling Global Action for Climate Finance” to drive necessary climate action

The COP29 Presidency hosted the “Dialogue on Enabling Global Action for Climate Finance” event during the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., Report informs.

COP29 convened the discussions to bring together leaders from government, global financial institutions, philanthropy, and the private sector to work urgently to meet global climate goals.

COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, delivered the keynote address that emphasized the critical role finance plays in underpinning all climate action efforts. While acknowledging the progress that has already been made, he challenged global financial institutions to reach further in both ambition and action.

“Global financial institutions are sending out positive signals that we intend to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. And they are stepping up to their climate responsibilities with concrete action,” said President-Designate Babayev. “To unlock climate finance at greater multiples, these institutions must go further and faster. We must ratchet up our actions to the highest possible levels of ambition. We must do today what we thought was impossible yesterday.”

“We are determined to do everything in our power to bring the parties together, to ensure we fulfil our past promises and to enable action to keep 1.5 ºC within reach and leave no one behind,” President-Designate Babayev added.

COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev expressed encouragement from the level of consensus expressed by the event’s speakers. “We are unanimous in opinion that we must act now. The current scale of climate finance is not enough,” said Lead Negotiator Rafiyev.

“The road to 1.5 ºC goes through Baku. This is not an easy problem to solve. We must build trust – between developed and developing nations, between Global South and Global North, between island and continental nations. We are committed to ensuring that COP29 will be an inclusive environment for everyone to feel that their voices are heard.”