Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s COP29 Climate Change Conference, has signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, an important voluntary commitment by nation states to reduce their emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

The Global Methane Pledge is an initiative put forward by the United States and the European Union (EU) at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in 2021. It aims to reduce overall methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, compared to 2020 levels. Currently, 155 countries accounting for nearly half of global methane emissions have signed up.

“Azerbaijan’s signing of the Global Methane Pledge sends a strong signal as it prepares to host this year’s COP29 climate talks, and further strengthens its reputation as a reliable green-energy partner to the world,” Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev said.

Azerbaijan ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1995 and the Kyoto Protocol of the Convention in 2000, committing to the international effort to mitigate the negative impacts of global climate change.

Under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Azerbaijan originally targeted a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, as part of its efforts to mitigate the effects of global climate change.

In its latest NDC, updated in 2023, Azerbaijan committed to a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It also announced the transformation of the Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur economic regions into a de-carbonization zone, with a 2050 target.

As a responsible member of the international community, Azerbaijan provides significant support to the collective endeavor against climate change and urges the world to increase its efforts to switch to a low-carbon, ‘green’ economy.

Azerbaijan's commitment to its obligations and its successes within the framework of the ‘Green World Solidarity’ initiative announced by President Ilham Aliyev have earned it praise as a valuable contributor to global climate policy.

The decision to appoint Azerbaijan as host of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) is another manifestation of international community’s faith in its activities and ambitions.