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Azerbaijan's president will present a climate plan that was delayed by September

Azerbaijan will present its long-overdue climate action plans by September, COP29 president Mukhtar Babaev said on Thursday. He added that the oil producing country is advancing its green transition.

Azerbaijan said that it would use the presidency of the annual U.N. meetings to set an example and convince countries to submit their national climate plans in line with the U.N. target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2,7 degrees Fahrenheit).

All countries are required to submit Nationally Determined contributions, or climate action Plans, which describe policies and decisions to reduce emissions. They must also be updated every few years.

Azerbaijan, for example, was one of the few countries that failed to submit their plans by the February deadline. The U.N. extended the deadline until September.

Babayev noted that it was easy to declare things, and that some countries had delayed submitting their NDCs because they needed to prepare their programmes more.

He said Azerbaijan is developing a comprehensive program on the transition to a low-carbon economy, and will submit its plan by September.

The campaigners worry that global efforts to combat climate change will lose momentum now that the United States has pulled out of the United Nations efforts under Donald Trump and the big business has abandoned sustainability.

Babayev stated that Azerbaijan is working towards the goal of generating 30% of its electricity through renewable sources by 2030. The country also plans to increase its solar power and export offshore wind energy from the Caspian Sea.

He said, "For us it is important to show how a country with a long history of oil and gas has now turned its economy in the direction of green energy."

Climate Watch reports that only 19 countries have made new Nationally Determined contributions.

Azerbaijan will hand over the U.N. presidency to Brazil this year, as Brazil will be hosting COP30 (the 30th Conference of Parties) in November. Virginia Furness, Rachna uppal and Barbara Lewis (Reporting)

(source: Reuters)