Activities of Secretary-General in Azerbaijan, 21-23 November

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, returned to Baku, Azerbaijan, from Brazil early in the morning of Thursday, 21 November.

That afternoon, he was briefed at the twenty-ninth UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) venue by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, as well as his Special Adviser on Climate Action, Selwin Hart.  This was followed by a brief meeting with Hisham Badr, Assistant Minister for Strategic Partnerships, Excellence and Initiatives of Egypt.

In the early afternoon, the Secretary-General had a press encounter at which he noted that the conference was “down to the wire”.  He underscored that what we need is clear:  Agreement on an ambitious new climate finance goal in Baku in the context of a balanced set of decisions.

The Secretary-General appealed directly to ministers and negotiators to soften their hard lines and navigate through their differences.  And he asked them to keep their eyes on the bigger picture.

The Secretary-General also underscored that finance is not a hand-out; it’s an investment.  It’s an investment against the devastation that unchecked climate chaos will inflict on all of us.  It’s also a down payment on a safer, more prosperous future for every nation on Earth.

After the press encounter, the Secretary-General had a series of bilateral meetings starting with the United States Climate Envoy, John Podesta.  This was followed by a meeting with the European Union Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra.  He then met with the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband.  The next meeting was with the Minister for Environment of Brazil, Maria Osmarina Marina da Silva Vaz de Lima.

The Secretary-General then met with representatives from the Alliance of Small Island States, and at the end of the day, he met with COP President Mukhtar Babayev.

The next day, the Secretary-General met with the Chinese delegation.  He then attended the European Union Ministerial Coordination meeting.  He then had a brief meeting with the UN country team.  This was followed by a meeting with the delegation from India and then Australia.  He then met with the Minister for Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of South Africa, Dion George.

He also met that day with the Kenyan delegation and then with the Minister of Uganda as Chair of the Group of 77.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the delegation from the Russian Federation.  This was followed by a photo opportunity with the volunteers working at the conference.

The Secretary-General then made various phone calls to leaders who were not present at COP29.  At the end of the day, he met again with the COP29 President. 

The Secretary-General departed for New York in the early hours of Saturday, 23 November.