COP29 President: Agriculture and Water Top Priorities in Climate Change Fight

Agriculture, one of the sectors most impacted by climate change, is a key focus of today’s agenda, alongside discussions on water, transport, and cities.

This is because all these sectors are vital pillars for the Azerbaijani society and economy, thus their sustainability and the mitigating their environmental impacts are critically important, said Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President, as he addressed the opening session of the event on the third day of the Baku Climate Action Week, The Caspian Post reports citing local media.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev mentioned that the morning session was dedicated to agriculture and food security. “These were also highlighted as priorities of the COP29 Presidency Action Agenda last year. As the host country, we intend to share our experience and speed up our efforts in this area. High level of water scarcity seriously affects our agricultural communities. Therefore, we have presented the “Water Declaration for Climate Action” as part of the COP29 Presidency Initiatives “Action Agenda,” with over 60 countries have already committed to enhancing partnerships, advancing research and raising the profile of water-related climate issues,” he underlined.

The COP29 President also highlighted the establishment of the Baku Water and Climate Dialogue, an initiative aimed at enhancing international cooperation, improving climate governance, and promoting joint management of trans-boundary water basins.

Emphasizing the importance of turning international climate commitments into meaningful action at the national level, Mukhtar Babayev stated: “Dear friends and colleagues, today we are presented with new opportunities to translate international agreements within the COP process into real results at home. I am looking forward to discussing with you how we can make this happen more effectively.”