As COP29 concludes, lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev reflects on its outcomes and legacy. In an exclusive interview with AnewZ, he discusses the next steps in global climate action and shares a message for Brazil, the host of the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference.

The COP29 summit ended last weekend with an agreement that nations will raise three hundred billion dollars towards vulnerable countries affected by climate change. Azerbaijan's lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev says it is now important for Baku to keep up the momentum.

"We have just started our presidency. It means for the next one year period, we will work hard to continue our presidency, to come up with new ideas, to help the Brazilian presidency build their own outcomes, a package. Also, as part of Troika, we will need to work closely with UAE and Brazil. But also, in terms of strategic importance for Azerbaijan, we need to keep... We maintain the legacy of Baku, we need to strengthen it, we need to promote it, because Baku was one of the historical COPs, ever. Because of its outcomes, because of the level of attendance, because of many important pledges and promises made by certain countries, and because of many innovations. And we need to keep, in the next few years at least, this legacy to be strengthened, maintained, and then further build upon it by having contributed to the global climate action, including the negotiations," Rafiyev stated.

As COP29 concluded, some countries, including India, Bolivia, and Cuba, voiced concerns over the outcome. Rafiyev explains the different positions these countries took and what steps will be needed to continue dialogue and collaboration moving forward.

"India was, of course, trying to block the whole decision, but they came to us, asked for a floor in the statement, but did not mention when. If it is before the adoption or after. And we, after the adoption, we gave them a floor and they expressed their view. When it comes to Bolivia, Bolivia was not against the decision, was not blocking it, just expressed solidarity with India. Those positions that the figure is low, that the developed countries should do more, and Cuba as well. So their dissatisfaction was not about the decision, but about the approach by the developed countries,"- he said.

Looking ahead to next year's UN Climate Change Conference at the port city of Belém, Rafiyev has a key message for the upcoming Brazilian presidency.

"Do not bring the political, geopolitical divides into the negotiations, I would say, into the negotiations process. Because if you bring these geopolitical divides, you end up in a situation where even though this is something that affects humanity, you cannot act impartially. Like those issues that you have been experiencing in other parts, in other areas of geopolitics, you have been observing also here,"-  shared Rafiyev with AnewZ. 

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) held in Baku from November 11 to 23 and led to significant progress in the fight against climate change.

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