BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 10. The
availability of financial resources alone is not sufficient to
implement climate projects on the ground, as cities and regions
also need the necessary capacities and access to financing,
Director of the Climate Diplomacy Department at Azerbaijan’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elchin Allahverdiyev said, Trend's correspondent reports
from the event.
He made the remarks during his speech at the Baku Climate Action
Week.
“Urban systems, particularly cities and regions, primarily need
financing to design and develop projects based on their own needs.
However, the mere availability of funding is not enough to
implement specific actions on the ground. International financial
resources available through various international financial
mechanisms do not always provide cities and regions with easy
access to these funds. We need coherence and closer alignment
between national climate plans, national development strategies and
local investment priorities in urban development so that they are
synchronized and respond to the needs of local communities,”
Allahverdiyev said.
Allahverdiyev also emphasized the need to strengthen the
capacity of cities and regions to develop projects that can attract
available international financing.
According to Allahverdiyev, international financial institutions
and local partners should participate in building the capacity of
cities and regions to ensure their access to available financial
resources. “Another important element is the involvement of the
academic community and technology. At the national level,
governments have easier and more flexible access to innovative
technologies and other similar resources. At the local level,
cities and regions should also be provided with opportunities to
work with climate and urban aspects of this system,” he said.
Moreover, Allahverdiyev noted that during Azerbaijan’s COP29
presidency, attention was paid to the insufficient representation
of the urban climate agenda on official platforms of climate
conferences. “When we, as the COP29 presidency, began working on
our initiatives, we understood that the climate agenda,
particularly the urban climate agenda, was insufficiently
represented on the official platforms of climate conferences,
including COP,” he said.
According to the Azerbaijani official, turning COP31 into a new
impetus for cities and urban systems is of great importance.
“Azerbaijan, as a former COP presidency country, plays a key role
in maintaining this important element on the agenda not only across
various international platforms, but also within our own
activities, various urban forums inside the country, as well as in
promoting this process and engaging with other local stakeholders,”
Allahverdiyev added.
