COP29 Presidency Launches Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief, and Recovery

November 15th, 2024, Baku – Today, the COP29 Presidency launched the Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief, and Recovery (BCCAP), a milestone initiative aimed at addressing the urgent nexus of climate change, conflict, and humanitarian needs.

This initiative responds to the growing recognition that the adverse effects of climate change—such as water scarcity, food insecurity, land degradation and human displacement—can act as catalysts for conflict and instability, especially in the most climate-vulnerable regions.

The Call was launched by Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov at the High-level panel titled “Climate and Peace: Enabling Joint Action to Leave No One Behind” of inaugurating the COP29 Peace, Relief, and Recovery Day. The event brought together Ministers and Governmental Envoys from a wide range of countries across both the Global North and South to develop a strategy for preventing conflict-induced conflicts and scaling up support for climate and conflict vulnerable nations with high humanitarian needs.

Through multiple rounds of consultations over the last six months, the COP29 Presidency has developed, in collaboration with Partner Co-lead countries of Egypt, Italy, Germany, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, who has already endorsed The Call, the concrete, solution-oriented responses that build upon climate and peace initiatives championed by previous COP Presidencies. It has established the Baku Climate and Peace Action Hub as a coordination platform to deliver on pledges to mitigate challenges on peace and climate nexus. The COP29 Presidency will host the Secretariat of the Hub in Baku.

The Hub will drive results-oriented synergy and foster joint peace-sensitive climate action of ongoing peace and climate initiatives, namely the COP27 Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace (CRSP) Initiative, the COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery, and Peace (CRRP), Germany-led Climate for Peace Initiative (C4P), and the climate dimension of Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa to meet needs of the climate and conflict vulnerable countries.

The Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief, and Recovery reiterates global pledges and introduces innovative recommendations addressing critical issues such as:

• Water Scarcity: Enhancing sustainable water management practices.
• Food Insecurity: Promoting climate-resilient agricultural solutions.
• Land Degradation: Supporting land rehabilitation and ecosystem restoration.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev said: “With a disproportionate impact on the most at-risk communities, particularly in developing, lower-income, climate-vulnerable, and conflict-affected states, the Baku Call emphasizes the importance of peace-sensitive climate action. It also prioritizes support for the most vulnerable groups, including women, children, and youth, who bear the brunt of these intersecting crises”.

The development of the Baku Call has been a highly inclusive process, informed by consultations with a diverse range of international partners, think tanks, governments, UN agencies, development banks, civil society, and the private sector and represents an opportunity to collectively amplify commitments to peace-sensitive climate action, while scaling up support for the most vulnerable communities worldwide.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov stated, “We appreciate the confidence of the Co-lead partners in entrusting Azerbaijan to host the Hub and reaffirm our commitment to continue inclusive, cooperative and results-oriented operationalization of the Hub. Together, we must seize this critical moment to deliver bold and inclusive solutions, to turn pledges into tangible actions so that climate and peace nexus will eventually bear not a connotation of crisis and destruction but the one of peace and development.”

Background on the Baku Call for Climate Action and Peace, Relief, and Recovery can be found in COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev’s Letter published on the UNFCCC at this link: Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief and Recovery | UNFCCC

Special Envoy for Climate Change of the Italian Government Francesco Corvaro: “We highly appreciate the leadership of COP29 Presidency in creating a truly inclusive and transformative process. By bringing together an unprecedented set of nations from the Global North and South, COP29 Presidency has exemplified the spirit of global unity and cooperation needed to address the climate and peace challenges. This collective approach has not only fostered meaningful dialogue but also aligned diverse initiatives under one cohesive umbrella, paving the way for solution-oriented and equitable climate action that addresses the unique challenges and priorities of all stakeholders.

Director-General of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) Ahmed Abdel-Latif: “This Call marks a significant moment in climate action for peace, strengthening the momentum for further progress. The Baku call not only addresses the urgent need for collaborative solutions but also embodies the spirit of cooperation that characterizes the work of the COP29 Presidency. With these efforts, the Baku COP will have made a key contribution to advancing the climate and peace agenda with pledges for a sustainable and climate-resilient future converging under a shared vision of collaboration and action.”

Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy E. Pope: “In an era where climate-induced displacement has surpassed the number of conflict-driven refugees, the establishment of a broad international partnership around the Baku Call, alongside the historic development of a specialized Climate and Peace Hub in COP history gives the hope for urgent action to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and peace to come.

COP29 Attendees with UN Secretary General (click to see larger)