Azerbaijan is hosting the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, known as COP29, from November 11 till November 22, 2024.

The COP, which consists of 198 countries and the European Union, is the main global forum for addressing climate change. Over ten days, heads of states and governments, climate change experts and policymakers, as well as civil society actors - some 72,000 people in total - will gather in Baku. Chaired this year by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Mr. Mukhtar Babayev, the conference's overarching goal is to promote global cooperation to achieve a sustainable and resilient climate future. The main themes of the conference are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, climate finance in developing countries, adaptation to climate change, and loss and damage caused by the impacts of climate change.

On November 12 and 13, Prime Minister Petr Fiala attended the UN World Leaders Climate Action Summit and the High-Level Segment of the UNFCCC COP29.

In his national address, Petr Fiala stressed, among others, the necessity of using clean sources to achieve climate goals, such as nuclear energy. He stressed the need to set both ambitious and realistic targets. He also stressed the need for international cooperation, global action and innovative solutions to the climate crisis. He informed the audience in the Plenary Hall Nizami that the Czech Republic has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than a third since 1990.

During the first day of the Summit, Prime Minister Fiala held a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The two leaders appreciated the high level of mutual relations between Czechia and Azerbaijan and discussed trade and economic cooperation as well as foreign policy issues. The Prime Minister thanked the President Aliyev for a positive approach in solving the case of the detained Czech citizen.

The Prime Minister held a number of bilateral meetings: He held talks with the Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Željka Cvijanović, the President of Ethiopia, Mr. Taye Atseke Selassie Made, the Prime Minister of the DRC, Ms Judith Suminwa Tuluka, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shahbaz Sharif. On November 13, further bilateral meetings were held with the President of Northern Macedonia, Ms. Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the President of Uzbekistan, Mr Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Brief informal talks were also held with President Abdal Latif Rashid of Iraq, President Maia Sandu of Moldova, Prime Minister Georgia Meloni of Italy and President Peter Pellegrini of Slovakia.

Martin Lubojacký, ÚV ČR