BAKU - The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) participated in the eleventh edition of the Global Baku Forum held from 14 to 16 March 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. During the forum, strategic discussions were held to both strengthen UNIDO’s cooperation with Azerbaijan and ensure the Organization’s effective contribution to the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) taking place in Baku in November 2024.

Fatou Haidara, Deputy to the UNIDO Director General, spoke during the panel discussion titled “From Good Words to Good Deeds: What Objectives can be set for COP29?” During her intervention, Haidara emphasized that COP29 needs to address the gaps in the climate finance pledge, enhance the transparency of climate action, strengthen accountability and harmonize standards for carbon accounting.

Other panelists pointed out the critical importance of fulfilling commitments made during the previous editions of the conference. It was noted that COP29’s theme of climate finance underscores the importance of securing investments to address environmental issues and advocate for the promotion of locally-driven strategies to reduce CO2 emissions.

Haidara highlighted the need to work with energy-intensive hard-to-abate sectors, including steel and cement, to establish green public procurement targets, incentivize investment into low-carbon product development and design modern industrial policies. She emphasized that UNIDO, as the United Nations agency focused on industry, has a crucial role to play in engaging the private sector to ensure that climate action is inclusive and the green transition is just.

On the sidelines of the forum, UNIDO held meetings with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Agriculture, to discuss bilateral cooperation and UNIDO’s strategic engagement at COP29. Sahib Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, highlighted that UNIDO is the country’s key partner for enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, advancing home-grown clean technology and promoting resource and energy efficiency. The parties agreed that UNIDO’s expertise will be an asset to the discussions at COP29.

For more information, please contact:

Solomiya Omelyan - Chief of the Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia