Estonian delegation attends UN climate conference in Baku

TALLINN – An Estonian delegation is participating in the UN climate change conference, the Conference of the Parties (COP), in Baku, Azerbaijan, starting Monday, where the key focus of the negotiations is to agree on the next climate finance goal.

"Climate change knows no borders, therefore joint steps must be taken with all countries of the world to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It is precisely these next global steps that will be agreed upon at the UN climate change conference," said Estonia's Minister of Climate Yoko Alender, the head of the Estonian delegation. "In the climate finance negotiations, the lists of both the contributors and the recipients will also be reviewed. It is important for us that countries affected by war, such as Ukraine, can also receive support to address climate change.’"

Estonia has four key expectations for global agreements at this year's COP: reaching a new target for climate finance, continued progress towards a clean economy with a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels, ongoing climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, and improving the quality of climate data to ensure decisions are based on accurate foundations.

Kristi Klaas, deputy secretary general of the Estonian Ministry of Climate for the green reform, said the most challenging negotiations will be over climate finance.

"We will need to discuss both the amount of funding and the contributors. This will no longer only involve the contributions of countries, but also the fact that large polluting companies should contribute to supporting developing countries, so that they can cope with climate change," Klaas said.

The new climate finance target is expected to take effect from 2026. The new target follows the one agreed in 2009, which directed 100 billion US dollars per year to climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries until 2025. From this year's negotiations, developing countries expect a significant increase in the volume of climate finance.