Azerbaijan remains active in climate diplomacy after handing over COP Presidency to Brazil

Azerbaijan continues to play a prominent role in global climate diplomacy even after transferring its COP presidency to Brazil. Owing to the trust it built among countries during COP29 and the preparatory phase for COP30, several important missions within the COP process have been entrusted to Baku, Azernews reports.

Under the Baku Finance Goal adopted at COP29, Azerbaijan and Brazil—serving as COP29 and COP30 presidents—jointly prepared the “Roadmap from Baku to Belém” outlining steps to scale up global climate finance to USD 1.3 trillion. The document was presented within the COP30 framework and has been widely welcomed and positively evaluated by most participating states.

Additionally, at Brazil’s request, Azerbaijan has been tasked with leading negotiations and coordinating two key decisions expected to be adopted at COP30:

COP30 President André do Lago has authorized Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev and Brazil’s Special Envoy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mauricio Lyrio to conduct high-level negotiations on determining the host country for COP31.

Australia and Türkiye are currently competing to host the conference. Azerbaijani and Brazilian negotiators are actively mediating between the two sides in an effort to reach a consensus.

One of the most critical potential outcomes of COP30—the agreement on the Global Stocktake (GST) under the Paris Agreement—has also been assigned to Azerbaijan and Norway. COP30 President André do Lago has mandated representatives of both countries to lead the negotiations.

The talks are co-chaired by Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev and Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, who are working to build agreement among participating states.