The gathering brought together international delegations, government officials, and various stakeholders, offering an essential platform to advance climate negotiations ahead of the upcoming COP29, which is scheduled for November.
The discussions at Pre-COP focus on key priorities such as climate finance, including the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), mitigation strategies, adaptation efforts, and support for vulnerable communities worldwide.
In a message delivered by COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the critical need to agree on a new NCQG at COP29 that would meet the needs of developing, least developed, and small island states. He highlighted that this goal must represent a substantial increase over previous targets and stressed the importance of international collaboration in achieving it.
During the opening ceremony, Mukhtar Babayev also recognized the progress made but urged participants to continue working with urgency, using Pre-COP as a foundation for a successful COP29. He encouraged open and honest dialogue, emphasizing that countries must focus on common interests and put aside their differences to address the global climate crisis effectively.
Babayev laid out clear goals for the key negotiation priorities, including advancing work on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which is essential for mobilizing financial and technical resources. He also called for the fulfillment of commitments to the Loss and Damage Fund and urged significantly greater contributions to the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
Speeches at the opening ceremony were delivered by notable figures such as UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation, Ambassador Nabeel Munir. They all emphasized the need for concrete actions and outcomes at COP29 to translate last year’s UAE Consensus into real-world climate solutions.
Pre-COP marks a critical milestone in Azerbaijan’s preparations for COP29, which will focus on limiting global warming to 1.5°C and building resilience to climate impacts. Ahead of Pre-COP, the COP29 Presidency also held an informal Heads of Delegation meeting on October 8 in Baku, followed by a High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on October 9, with further meetings planned before the main conference.
The Azerbaijan Presidency of COP29 aims to serve as a bridge between developed and developing countries, steering negotiations toward a successful outcome. As President-Designate Babayev noted, “The world is watching, and history will judge us by the outcomes we achieve at COP29. We all have a role to play in ensuring success.”
