Director-General/Executive Director
Your Excellency Deputy Foreign Minister Rzayev,
Your Excellency Ambassador Sadibayli,
Excellencies, dear Ambassadors,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is wonderful to join you today to experience this interesting photo exhibition.
At the outset, I would like to congratulate Azerbaijan for being selected as host country of COP29, and to thank the government of Azerbaijan for its commitment to climate action.
This exhibition is a call to action, at a time when action is desperately needed.
Some of these photos are a reminder of what is at stake if we fail to act against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Other photos are about the importance of inclusion and the role of women.
Each photograph challenges us to recognize the importance of a healthy environment and a stable climate.
And there’s no time to waste.
As the UN Secretary-General emphasized earlier this month, we are at a moment of truth when it comes to the climate.
In his words: the need for action is unprecedented, and the decisions we make today will determine the future of our planet and the well-being of generations to come.
The COP – as the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change – is an important opportunity to come together and to unite around multilateral solutions, and it is also the largest UN conference.
It is an opportunity to include stakeholders from all sectors of society, from academia, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society, and especially young people, as they will be inheriting our planet and living with the consequences of today for many years to come.
Above all, it is an opportunity to change mindsets and find common ground on issues that affect us all.
The damage being done to our planet is compromising our shared future.
It impacts all areas of life, from health, to migration, to our economies, and our aspirations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
And crimes that affect the environment, such as illegal logging and waste trafficking, compound the damage and the threat.
We made important progress at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh and at COP28 in Dubai, and we must now build on those outcomes on the road to COP29 with renewed commitment to climate finance, the NDAs and all other commitments.
We have critical checkpoints leading up to COP29, including in September when Member States will convene for the Summit of the Future to find multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow.
So now is the time to invest in multilateralism for climate action.
UNOV and UNODC are committed to working with Azerbaijan and all our partners to contribute to the success of COP29.
Let us leave here inspired by these images, as we work to turn the tide against climate change and environmental degradation.
Together, we can protect our cherished, shared home, and demonstrate global solidarity against climate change.
Thank you.
