The Global Summit of Religious Leaders, themed “World Religions for a Green Planet,” commenced in Baku as part of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Initiated and supported by President Ilham Aliyev, the summit is co-organized by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Committee on Work with Religious Institutions, the Muslim Council of Elders, the Caucasus Muslims Office, and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov opened the event by reading President Ilham Aliyev’s address to the summit participants.

The two-day summit brings together nearly 30 leaders from world and traditional religions, heads of prominent religious centers, including patriarchs, officials from the Vatican and Al-Azhar, and notable religious and public figures from various continents and faiths. Representatives from 55 countries and 30 international organizations are attending, including state, academic, religious figures, and media representatives.

This summit aims to contribute meaningfully to the moral discourse on climate change.