Next UN climate talks are critical to plot aid for poorer nations, says incoming president

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who will run United Nations climate talks this November views the negotiations as a key link in international efforts to curb global warming.

The conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, must build on last year’s successful agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, said Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s environment minister who will serve as conference president of the talks known as COP29 this fall. And this fall’s meeting must help pave the way for countries to come together in 2025 on beefed-up plans to clamp down on heat-trapping gases, Babayev said.

Baku is the place to find common ground on how rich countries may provide financial help to poorer nations who generally don’t contribute as much to warming but suffer more from climate change, Babayev said in a 30-minute interview with The Associated Press at the Azerbaijan embassy in Washington.

“We need to consider any possible actions or activities to bring the parties to be closer to each other,” Babayev said. “We consider Baku as a bridge between the developing and developed world.”

But it’s a bridge under construction.

Most past climate negotiations — called Conferences of the Parties or COPs — had years to plan. But because of the geopolitics of eastern Europe, world leaders couldn’t agree far in advance where COP29 would be. That’s critical because the host country holds the presidency and sets the agenda.

Baku was chosen last December, with its selection part of the peace accord between warring Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Babayev won’t officially take charge of negotiations until Nov. 11 when COP29 opens in Baku. Successful climate talks often depend on months or years of work by president-designates such as Babayev traveling and working to forge