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.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continui...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It com...
France is preparing for a fresh wave of nationwide demonstrations this weekend as rising living costs, educatio...
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
Here’s your AnewZ Daily Brief for 15 October 2026, featuring the top five culture and entertainment stories from around the world.
Türkiye’s COP31 presidency has unveiled an action agenda designed to turn climate commitments into concrete projects and measurable results, focusing on clean energy, waste reduction, resilient cities and industrial decarbonisation.
Greenland and Antarctica have shed a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, according to the most comprehensive satellite study of the planet's ice sheets to date, with researchers warning the pace of loss has accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The European Union will continue allowing large-scale plastic waste exports to Türkiye despite concerns over recycling rates, environmental damage and the risk of illegal waste trafficking.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature’s most striking nesting events. But conservation officials warn that climate change is making it increasingly difficult for their eggs to hatch.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment