“At COP29, climate finance and Azerbaijan’s important role in this field are in the focus of special attention.”
These words were stated in exclusive statements to AZERTAC by academic Mark Hovells, professor at Loughborough University in Great Britain and director of The Climate Compatible Growth Program.
Emphasizing that Azerbaijan organized COP29 at a high level, Mark Howells said: “The productive meetings held at COP29 create a very good environment for implementing climate-related initiatives. COP29 differs from other climate conferences because this time the focus “The main thing is to turn ambitions into reality.”
The British academic pointed out that there are major obstacles to climate financing. “Despite the availability of funds, countries are finding it difficult to structure their investment plans and translate them into acceptable cost-benefit analyzes at the government level. Much work is being done to simplify this process, as many climate investments are, of course, very profitable fact,” he added.
He also drew attention to the common theme “Data for Trading.” He said this initiative covers all stages from data collection, analysis, policy adaptation, cost-benefit analysis and attracting financing for projects through cooperation with financial institutions. The academic emphasized that the participation of local experts in these processes is very important. “It’s very important that all of this is driven by local people, so we are working to translate local knowledge into policies, plans and trade agreements,” Howells said.
Responding to the question about the organization of COP29, M. Hovells highlighted that the event venue is very accessible and the volunteers helping the participants provide great support. “In this event space everything is easy to find and you can see the attendees guiding you at each point. A very pleasant atmosphere is created,” said the academic.
