The Azerbaijan government will fund flights, accommodation and daily allowances for four members of each delegation from the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) at COP29, as well as in the preparatory meetings preceding the conference.
In a Sept 25 statement, the COP29 Presidency says it is “committed to running an inclusive process that delivers tangible outcomes”. “Central to this inclusive process will be the active participation of those particularly vulnerable communities who stand to lose the most from the climate crisis.”
Singapore is among the SIDS’ 57 nations — or parties, as they are referred to at the annual climate conference. The 39 sovereign states and 18 dependent territories that are members of SIDS span the Caribbean, Pacific, Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea.
COP29 will take place in Baku from Nov 11 to Nov 22.
In August, COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev joined the UN Secretary General, the Commonwealth Secretary-General and senior political figures at the 53rd Pacific Leaders Summit in Tonga. There, Babayev and Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland KC signed a joint declaration that sets out Azerbaijan’s commitment to support SIDS in achieving their sustainable development goals, enhancing their adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change.
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Mukhtar Babayev during the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, on April 25
To drive this work forward, Azerbaijan says it is ready to allocate US$10 million ($10.29 million) to provide support and fund projects to be delivered jointly with the Commonwealth Secretariat for at least five years.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has said that “helping small island states for us is something we consider as our moral duty. We can promise you that the issue of small island states and their support, and their protection will be at the centre of discussions [at COP29]”.
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Commenting on funding for SIDS, Babayev says: “We will not have an inclusive process if we do not take every measure to ensure participation from frontline communities. We need these perspectives and experiences to guide our approach and strongly believe in our moral duty to support these nations. Funding for delegations from SIDS will ensure that the communities with the most at stake in our collective climate efforts can join us in Baku as we work to keep 1.5°C within reach while leaving no one behind.”
At last year’s COP28, Samoa lead negotiator Anne Rasmussen said her delegation had been consulting fellow members of the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) and had arrived late to the final plenary, where a Global Stocktake (GST) was gavelled through.
“We didn’t want to interrupt the standing ovation, but we are confused,” said Rasmussen on Dec 13, 2023. “It seems you just gavelled the decision, and the small island states were not in the room.”
Samoa lead negotiator Anne Rasmussen speaking at COP28 last year
She added: “We were working hard to coordinate the 39 small island developing states that are disproportionately affected by climate change, and so we were delayed in arriving here.”
Aosis functions primarily as an ad hoc lobby and negotiating voice for SIDS through the United Nations (UN) system. Most SIDS are Aosis members, and Singapore is a member of both.
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Aosis has a membership of 39 global states, of which 37 are members of the UN while two (Cook Islands and Niue) participate within the UN. An additional five states are observers: American Samoa, Guam, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.
Speaking after Rasmussen, US climate envoy John Kerry highlighted the standing ovation given to Samoa, which had lasted longer than the one for COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber after the GST’s conclusion. “The applause that we just saw for Aosis is a clarion call to all of us about our obligation and responsibility over these next months to ensure we’re reaching as far as we can to implement as fast as we can.”
Photos: Bloomberg
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