COP29 was Awarded with Prestigious Cisco Award

Representatives of the COP29 IT Department have received the Cisco Sustainability Leader Award, recognizing their contributions to sustainable development and innovative technology solutions. Notably, COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company became the first organization in Azerbaijan to receive this prestigious award.   The award ceremony took place at Cisco Live in Amsterdam, a premier technology event hosted by Cisco, a global leader in networking and IT. The COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company was selected for its role in establishing the ICT infrastructure for the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29). This award highlights successful projects that advance sustainability in the high-tech industry.   The award was received on behalf of COP29 by Javid Huseynov, director of the ICT department, along with Aykhan Satiji and Vusal Shahbazov. The event also featured discussions on COP29’s ICT project management and innovation, with the COP29 ICT team participating in a panel discussion titled “Building Network Infrastructure for Sustainability: Cisco and UN COP29” alongside Adele Trombetta, SVP and GM Customer Experience EMEA - Europe, Middle East, and Africa and Mary de Wysocki, SVP & Chief Sustainability Officer, Cisco’s Senior Vice Presidents for Customer Experience and Sustainability. Other recipients of the Cisco Sustainability Leader Award included T-Systems, SAP, STC, CORE42, Sykehuspartner, and Paris 2024.   Held from February 9 to 14, 2025, in Amsterdam, Cisco Live is one of the world’s leading technology events. This year, nearly 80 representatives from Azerbaijan’s public and private sectors are participating, including members of the COP29 IT Department.   As Cisco’s flagship annual event, Cisco Live brings together technology professionals, IT leaders, and engineers to explore the latest advancements. It also serves as a platform to showcase Azerbaijan’s achievements in hosting COP29 and building an internationally recognized ICT infrastructure in a short timeframe.   In addition to winning the Cisco Sustainability Leader Award, the COP29 IT team was also named as one of the six finalists for Cisco’s “Sustainability Changemaker” award. This recognition places them among globally renowned companies such as Adidas, Garanti BBVA, and Red Sea Global.   This recognition further strengthens Azerbaijan’s position as a leader in technology-driven sustainability and innovation solutions at a global stage.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev attends historic Mission 300 Energy Summit in Tanzania

The COP29 Presidency attended the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania, a landmark gathering for governments, private sector leaders and development partners to advance the ambitious goal of providing electricity access to 300 million by 2030.   For 2 days event, multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and OPEC Fund etc. committed to channelling over $50billion towards the Mission300 project.   At the summit, Mr Babayev engaged in key discussions on advancing energy access and accelerating the shift to renewable energy in Africa. He emphasised the role that the commitments made at COP29 could play in achieving this goal. This includes the Baku Finance Goal, which aims to mobilise $1.3 trillion in climate finance, and the COP29 Action Agenda global energy storage and grids pledge, to increase global energy storage capacity by six times by 2030.   Speaking engagements: Delivered remarks at a panel on the role of international partners in accelerating the energy transformation, highlighting the role that the Baku Finance Goal can plan in meeting the clean energy investment needs of Africa’s rising populations   Bilateral meetings: Meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed Meeting with Mr Jin Liqun, President and Chair of the Asian Infrastructure Bank Meeting with Hussain AlNowais, Chairman of AMEA Power Meeting with Ms Angellah Kairuki, special advisor to president on clean cooking and community development of Tanzania and Dr. Richard Muyungi Meeting with Ms AngellahKairuki, special advisor to president on clean cooking and community development of Tanzania  Meeting with Dr Muhammad Al Jasser, President of the Islamic Development Bank etc.    The COP29 Baku Finance Goal, which aims to mobilise $1.3 trillion in climate finance, remains central to all discussion and requires cooperation from all key stakeholders including multilateral development banks, governments, donors, and the private sector.   The COP29 Presidency recognises that the active engagement of African governments was critical to collective success at COP29 and attendance at this important event signals Azerbaijan’s continued commitment to championing the needs of Africa on the world stage.   Summary of key financial commitments: Multilateral banks pledged over $50 billion towards the Mission300 project that will connect at least 300 million Africans to energy by 2030 The World Bank committed to $22 billion, while the AfDB will give $18.2 billion through concessional loans The IDB pledged the highest amount yet, of $2.65 billion to be committed directly to the goal The AIIB and OPEC pledged $1 billion towards Mission 300 respectively

COP29 Presidency attends several engagements at the World Economic Forum in Davos

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev attended the World Economic Forum in Davos where governments, international organisations, the private sector and civil society come together.    At the summit, the Presidency discussed the key outcomes of COP29 and how to implement the historic commitments made in Baku. He also took the opportunity to remind all key stakeholders of the critical role they must play in tackling climate change and delivering the $1.3 trillion target set out in the Baku Finance Goal through the Baku to Belem Roadmap.   During the World Economic Forum, Mr Babayev attended important engagements to ensure stakeholders turn commitments from COP29 into action.    Speaking engagements:   Delivered remarks at the ‘The Road to COP30’ session hosted by the World Economic Forum on how COP29 has laid the foundations for the next decade of climate action to be faster, fairer and far-reaching; Delivered remarks at the High-Level Dialogue on ‘Business for COP Impact: How Business Can Complement Countries’ hosted by the World Economic Forum about the critical role businesses can play in delivering the historic $1.3 trillion target set in Baku;   Bilateral Meetings:   Meeting with Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC to speak about implementing the historic commitments made in Baku; Meeting with Mr Abdel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Council of Ministers, and Climate Envoy for Climate Affais to reflect on the significant breakthroughs made at COP29 and both nations’ plans to scale up renewable energy investments; Meeting with Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency to discuss important milestones in the energy transition, from methane to storage that were achieved at COP29, as well as how to drive greater investment in the clean energy transition;  Meeting with Sophie Hermans, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth of the The Kingdom of the Netherlands to discuss ambitious climate goals and ongoing opportunities for multilateral climate action.   These engagements were an important part of the COP29 Presidency’s work to help all stakeholders implement the historic commitments made at COP29. At the summit, Mr Babayev reiterated to all stakeholders the importance of:   Continual collaboration: Amidst challenges to multilateralism, the need and benefits for collaboration to address global issues such as climate change have never been greater. Driving delivery: The private sector has a crucial role to play in delivering the $1.3 trillion target set out in the Baku Finance Goal through the Baku to Belem Roadmap. Progress to prevail: Critical progress was made at COP29, however there is more to be done. The COP29 Presidency will do all it can to support Brazil in making COP30 a success.