“Negative consequences of climate change is evident in our today life. The world is already experiencing changes in average temperature, shifts in the seasons, an increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and slow onset events,” said Umayra Taghiyeva, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, as she addressed the event on the theme “National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Regional Approaches for resilient Caucasus Mountains and Beyond” held as part of COP29 on Thursday.

“Countries and communities need to develop adaptation solutions and implement actions to respond to current and future climate change impacts. Adaptation actions can take on many forms, depending on the unique context of country or region. You know well, that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all-solution’—but for countries which are sharing same ecosystems – cooperation, exchange of knowledge and experience - is crucial in this sense,” she noted.

“Successful adaptation not only depends on governments but also on the active and sustained engagement of stakeholders, including local communities, national, regional, multilateral and international organizations, public and private sectors, civil society and other relevant actors, as well as an effective management of knowledge.

Adaptation should be based on and guided by the best available science. Our countries is truly unique. The geographical location and diverse relief create environmental and other problems that comes by climate change specially in mountainous areas. Melting glaciers and a decrease the area of snow in winter lead to decreasing water level in rivers. Over the past 10 years, the duration of drought has increased by 19%. The decrease in the total amount of precipitation by 10% had a significant impact on agriculture,” the deputy minister mentioned.

“These processes affect ecosystems and lead to risks for biodiversity. The IPCC 6th assessment report talks about the risk of species loss. Adaptation is not abstract thinking about what can be done. Adaptation requires specific actions and adaptation requires adequate finance. COP29 Climate Action Agenda demonstrates our shared commitment across nations to address the urgent, critical challenge of climate change.

In Azerbaijan, our journey with the NAP process started with the valuable support of UNDP and the Green Climate Fund. This partnership has been essential in shaping our initial national adaptation plan, there vulnerability of mountains ecosystem was assessed and relevant adaptation measures are developed,” Umayra Taghiyeva emphasized.