Climate goals need investment, transparency and partnerships to become reality - minister

BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The climate
process must increasingly move from negotiating commitments to
delivering them, while implementation finance remains a key
condition for achieving climate goals, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign
Minister and COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev said, Trend’s correspondent reports
from the event.

Rafiyev made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the
fourth Climate Week (CW4) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change in Baku.

“The direction is clear: the climate process must increasingly
move from negotiating commitments to delivering them,” Rafiyev
said.

According to him, the new generation of nationally determined
contributions (NDCs) should no longer be viewed simply as
statements of ambition. “NDCs are no longer simply statements of
ambition. They must increasingly become investment and
implementation plans — connecting national targets with concrete
policies, technologies, infrastructure and finance,” he said.

Rafiyev noted that COP31 in Antalya can help accelerate this
transition. “The question in Antalya should therefore not only be:
How ambitious are our NDCs? It should also be: What will it take to
implement them? Which investments are needed? Which technologies?
Which partnerships? And, crucially, where will the finance come
from?” he said.

He stressed that financing is essential for implementation.
“Because there can be no Implementation COP without implementation
finance. The new climate finance goal agreed in Baku — at least
$300 billion annually by 2035, alongside efforts to scale finance
to $1.3 trillion — must increasingly translate into accessible and
affordable resources, particularly for developing countries,”
Rafiyev said.

“Finance is not a side issue of implementation. Finance is what
makes implementation possible,” he added.

Rafiyev also highlighted the importance of transparency in
achieving climate goals. He noted that during Azerbaijan’s COP29
Presidency, the country worked to elevate transparency to the
political level, encouraged parties to submit their first Biennial
Transparency Reports (BTRs), and launched the Baku Global Climate
Transparency Platform to support developing countries in
implementing the Enhanced Transparency Framework. “Now we must
maintain this momentum. As we approach the next BTR cycle, I
encourage Parties to prepare and submit their second BTRs on time,”
he said.

According to Rafiyev, NDCs show where countries intend to go,
while BTRs demonstrate how far they have actually progressed.
“Finance helps us close the distance between the two. This triangle
— ambition, transparency and finance — must become the foundation
of implementation,” he said.

Speaking about COP31, Rafiyev said Antalya should not become a
platform for renegotiating already achieved compromises. “COP31
should unlock their implementation for the future,” he said.

He emphasized the need to build trust between developed and
developing countries, negotiating groups, and those providing and
requiring support. Rafiyev also said Azerbaijan intends to continue
playing a bridge-building role through initiatives such as the
Shamakhi Retreat. “From Baku to Belém and now towards Antalya,
there must be continuity of purpose. Presidencies change. Our
collective responsibility does not,” he said.

According to him, Azerbaijan will remain an active partner in
defending multilateralism, building bridges, and supporting
Türkiye, Australia, and all parties in achieving an ambitious,
balanced, and implementation-focused outcome at COP31. “The world
does not need another COP that simply describes the climate
challenge. It needs a COP that demonstrates that multilateralism
can still solve it,” Rafiyev said.

The Fourth Climate Week (CW4) of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change is being held in Baku through
September 11, hosted by the Republic of Azerbaijan and organized by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Having become an important international platform on the climate
agenda, Baku is hosting discussions during the event on the
practical implementation of climate decisions, expanding
international cooperation and further strengthening global climate
action ahead of COP31.

Government and state officials from various countries, as well
as representatives of international organizations, experts,
financial institutions, the private sector and civil society, are
expected to participate in the events.

Baku Climate Week is designed as an international platform for
discussions on combating climate change, the energy transition,
renewable energy, sustainable development and accelerating climate
action.

The events are expected to further strengthen Baku’s active role
in the global climate agenda while making an important contribution
to strengthening international climate cooperation ahead of
COP31.