As part of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, COP29 Presidency arranged discussions on the theme "The Road to COP29: Multilateral Approaches to Adaptation".
In his opening remarks, Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-Designate, stressed that in recent years some progress observed on driving adaptation efforts forward in multilateral forums.
“However, adaptation still remains under-prioritized and underfunded, with the gap between needs and support expected to grow. We need strategic collaborations, innovative mechanisms, or reforms to raise adaptation to the level of urgency it demands. This support is essential both today and in the future. The Global Stocktake found that adaptation efforts are not on track to achieve our long-term goals set out in the Paris Agreement. The only way forward is to enhance ambition and enable action on Adaptation.
We recognize that effective adaptation relies not only on finance but also on well-structured plans, strategies, and technical capacity. Responding to the Global Stocktake, we all need to have National Adaptation Plans and policies in place by 2025 so that we can make progress in implementing them by 2030,” the COP29 President-Designate emphasized.
Noting that Azerbaijan is working to produce its NAP and understands the significant challenges many developing Parties face in developing and implementing these plans, Mukhtar Babayev added: “We are committed to working with partners to scale up support for the development of NAPs. To reach our long-term goals on adaptation we need to bridge the adaptation finance gap. The Global Stocktake acknowledged that adaptation finance needs to be increased well beyond the doubling agreed at COP26.”
The other speakers exchanged views on increasing of funding for adaptation, which got to be even more urgent in the context of recent climate disasters. The event also revolved around the discussions regarding the advance of the National Adaptation Plans and the Global goal on adaptation, as well as overcome barriers in financing adaptation, which is especially essential for developing countries.
The event participants also highlighted the importance of fortifying international collaboration and enhancing financing for adaptation efforts in particularly vulnerable regions such as small island developing states and the least developed countries. The speakers called for innovative approaches for implementation and elimination of obstacles in this area.
In his closing remarks, Yalchin Rafiyev, COP29 Lead Negotiator, underscored the importance of global collaboration and transformation-oriented measures to protect countries vulnerable to climate change impact, and in this regard, he emphasized the significance of COP29 in terms of reinforcing climate adaptation at the global level for the sake of a green future.
Malahat Najafova
Special correspondent
