Azerbaijan gears up for COP29: How Baku is preparing to host the world's biggest climate summit

euronews (in English)

In this episode of Road to COP29, we take a behind-the-scenes look at Baku's grand preparations to host the global climate summit.

Transcript

00:00It's just now that the race to cope itself and we will be happy to see everyone.

00:08This is the momentum where everyone, the whole climate community should be in Baku.

00:12We are ready and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone in Baku.

00:19Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, home to almost two and a half million people, and

00:27it's about to get busier as they prepare to welcome the world for COP 29, the United

00:33Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, billed as the Finance COP and an actionable

00:38one at that, agreeing on a new climate finance goal will lead the agenda, as well as a global

00:44call to countries to update their national climate commitments.

00:48The COP site is situated at Baku Olympic Stadium, the largest in Azerbaijan, a dedicated 112,000

00:56square metres temporary structure has been built there for the duration of the conference.

01:02I started back in March and April, let's say, starting by creating a team, getting

01:07the right contracts on board, getting all this project management done.

01:11The stage that we are at the moment is a completion stage, so finally what are we doing now is

01:15a small touch-ups here and there, so we can do some painting works or some artworks around,

01:20so there can be some branding being around the doors and so on, as well as testing and

01:25commissioning of all the IT equipment, AV equipment and power sockets and all these

01:31things obviously, but we are pretty much there.

01:35Over 40,000 registered delegates will be here over the two weeks, as well as 100 presidents,

01:41prime ministers and heads of state.

01:44There are two zones, the blue zone which is managed by the UNFCCC and the green zone which

01:50is managed by the COP Presidency and of course is open to the public.

01:55Baku is no stranger to global gatherings, having hosted the Olympics, Eurovision and

02:00Formula One.

02:01With any international event though, comes a strategic operational and logistics plan

02:06of action.

02:07We have to have a very sophisticated crowd management plan in place and there will be

02:14an increase in the traffic intensity in Baku and as you can see, today we are filming in

02:22the Intelligent Traffic Management Centre, we will be directly involved in the traffic

02:28management process, also we have to be prepared for any emergency events, we have special

02:36mobile units in place for this purpose.

02:40And safety of high-level visitors as well as the public is a top priority for Azerbaijan

02:45authorities.

02:46We are putting necessary safety measures in place.

02:49We have increased police personnel and we are using technology provided by the smart

02:54city camera system to make sure that everything is safe and secure.

02:59Travel and tourism contributes 9.1 trillion euros to global GDP.

03:04COP 29 is an opportunity for Azerbaijan to capitalise on the sector's potential.

03:09As we can see, a lot of examples from the world that a lot of countries are shifting

03:15their economy towards the tourism sector, they are spending their capital which was

03:21gained from the different sectors into the tourism sector and I will say that Azerbaijan

03:26is one of those countries.

03:28We have huge tourism potential in terms of culture, gastronomy, natural tourism and as

03:34well we can get the example of the COP 29, we have a lot of interest investing on the

03:41maize sector.

03:42COP will aim to stimulate economic growth as well as seeing businesses commit to embracing

03:47more green transitions.

03:49When we speak about the green transition, we speak about the new types of economy overall.

03:53So the role of the private sector in the global climate action is absolutely crucial, it's

03:58so important because private sector is coming with technologies, with innovation, with consumer

04:06behaviour so they can influence consumer behaviour, so it's important to engage with private sector.

04:11The green transition is coming with risks and opportunities, so it's a very mixed process

04:17and it's important to have a tailor-made approach to all categories.

04:21The main airport in Baku has reinforced its services and extra provision of hotel accommodation

04:26has been made across the city as the influx of guests prepare to arrive.

04:31It's a chance for travellers to explore more of the country.

04:34Our country, I think, is a jewel that has not been fully discovered.

04:38There's a lot to see, there's a lot of history, there's a lot of beauty.

04:41There is, you know, you can ski in the winter in the mountains with nine climatic zones

04:46and you can swim in the summer.

04:48As all eyes look towards Baku, the message is clear that they're open and ready for COP

04:5329 business.

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