Malta's minister: It's up to us to make COP29 a milestone towards climate neutrality

Miriam Dalli, Malta's Minister for the Environment, Energy, and Regeneration, expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani presidency for organizing the climate conference during her speech at the high-level session within COP29.

"The success of COP29 depends on persistent leadership in harnessing the opportunities that decarbonization offers our countries, our people, and future generations through a just transition. But we also have a list of COP29 tasks that we must accomplish to ensure positive change," she said.

Minister Dalli emphasized that nationally determined contributions must align with the goal of keeping temperature rise within 1.5 degrees, stating that the link between robust mitigation and effective adaptation is indivisible.

Malta's experience shows that adaptation plans should be part of mitigation strategies to ensure preparedness and resilience, she said.

Secondly, she highlighted the need for an ambitious and achievable agreement on a new collective quantified goal for climate finance to ensure a climate-neutral and sustainable global future for people and the planet.

In this regard, Malta calls for a broad donor base reflecting the evolution of contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, the minister said.

Private investments are crucial to scaling up the financing needed for the green transition. Malta supports a tiered model where NCQG is primarily accessible to the most vulnerable countries, such as small island states and least developed countries, Minister Dalli stated. She added that Malta is proud of its contribution to developing the Climate Vulnerability and Resilience Index and is ready to share its experience in microfinancing as an indispensable tool for leveraging adequate financing.

The achievements of COP29 must translate into a quality, fair, and inclusive green transition, requiring both synergy and transparency, Dalli said, adding that Malta has taken an innovative step in domestic climate governance by establishing the Climate Action Board to steer a cross-sectoral coordinated approach to climate neutrality.

"It is up to us to make COP29 a milestone on the path to climate neutrality. A goal that is necessary to ensure global peace and security," Minister Dalli said.