BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 9. Cooperation and
an integrated approach between countries must be strengthened to
implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate
commitments, Member of the UK House of Lords, former Secretary
General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, said during the
2026 Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW 2026), Trend's correspondent
reports from the event.


She noted that the approach to development has shifted from a
silo model of working in separate areas to an integrated,
restorative, and comprehensive approach.


"We have changed the way we approach development issues. The
best approach is an evidence-based approach. For this, we need
data. But this data needs to be integrated because the fragmented
approach we used before didn't show us the full picture of the
situation," she said.


Scotland pointed out that the Commonwealth Organization has
created an independent and collective review mechanism to assess
the performance of different countries based on experience covering
56 countries.


"We have developed an independent collective review to assess
good governance. We found that 80% of performance depends on the
presence of a good system. This system is shaped by experience
showing what works in different countries and how to build an
integrated system," she emphasized.


According to her, the remaining 20% of performance depends on
the human factor, and 80% of this is leadership.


"So even if you have good people, if your system is weak, you
will not be able to achieve effective results. If you have good
leaders and good systems, it's possible to achieve high results,"
Scotland said.


She added that the performance indicators of each of the
Commonwealth countries in the areas of implementation of the SDGs,
digital governance, green economy, and artificial intelligence were
also analyzed.


"One of the biggest changes is that we no longer think of
competition between countries. The real competition is against the
threats that we face together. We understand that we have to do
this together," she noted.


Scotland also stressed the importance of joint action by
countries in the field of climate finance.


"We need to move from acting separately to integrated work and
do it in a completely practical way. When we work together, when we
combine our finances and resources, we can do more. We currently
see billions of dollars of funds being used inefficiently," she
said.







She cited an example of the work of the Commonwealth's Access to
Climate Finance Center.


"We have managed to channel $594 million to member countries
with $8.4 million. The main problem right now is that people say,
'There is money, but our countries cannot access it,'" Scotland
stressed.


According to her, for this, it is important to strengthen
capacity within countries, create favorable processes and develop
projects that can be financed, that is, attractive to banks and
funds.


Scotland noted that none of the applications submitted to the
Adaptation Fund, the Green Climate Fund and other funds with the
support of the Access to Climate Finance Center of the Commonwealth
Organization have been unsuccessful.


"We already have a methodology and we can do it. But we must do
it together. We must focus on successes and not think that it is
impossible. We have the finance and we can create systems and tools
that will help countries develop projects that can be financed,"
she added.


The third day of the Baku Climate Action Week 2026 (BCAW 2026)
is underway.


The program of the third day will focus on issues such as the
transition from climate commitments to concrete action, climate
financing, youth participation in climate processes, artificial
intelligence and climate technologies, energy efficiency, methane
emissions reduction, water resources management, and cultural
heritage protection.


Representatives of governments and international organizations,
experts, financial institutions, the private sector, and civil
society from various countries are attending the events.


Now in its third year, Baku Climate Action Week is being held in
parallel with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) Climate Week for the first time this year. The Fourth
Climate Week and Baku Climate Action Week will feature a series of
sessions, panel discussions and other events on climate change,
climate finance, sustainable development and accelerating climate
action.


BCAW 2026 will continue until September 11.