Andorra la VellaThe Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Transport and Mobility, David Forné, this Monday started the work agenda at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) which is being held this week in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. COP29 brings together countries from all over to reach a point of agreement to take action to achieve the world’s collective climate goals agreed in the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Change Climate (UNFCCC).
In this first day of work, Forné participated in the ‘Global Climate Transparency’ ministerial table promoted by Japan, the United States, the Republic of South Africa, Italy and Kazakhstan. At this meeting, Andorra received the certificate, from the COP29 president, Mukhtar Babayev, certifying that it was the first country to present to the UN and the international community the Biannual Transparency Report (BTR) . This documentation, which Andorra submitted in October 2023, more than a year before the established deadline that expires at the end of this year, includes information relating to the history of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) national emissions, their reduction targets, as well as the measures and policies that the country has taken to fight climate change.
The Secretary of State has emphasized that receiving the badge from the UN, through the UNFCCC, represents the international community’s recognition of the work that Andorra is carrying out in climate action. “Transparency becomes a fundamental tool to encourage global collaboration and ensure that climate actions have an impact” and he added that “being transparent allows us to be demanding with the rest of the states that have great mitigation potential emissions”.
In this same sense, and during his intervention at the ministerial meeting, Forné explained that the process of validation and review of the documentation delivered to the UN has also made it possible to improve the way in which Andorra collects and delivers this documentation. As a result of this learning, it will also be able to improve the way the rest of the countries, which have not yet delivered this documentation, can do so. “We hope that our experience can inspire because without global action, the effects of climate change will continue and affect mountain territories like Andorra more severely,” recalled Forné.
The BTR is a report that is part of the Enhanced Transparency Framework that follows from the Paris Agreement and establishes the obligation of all the countries that signed the Agreement to deliver every two years a report explaining the commitments and progress made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In parallel to the celebration of the ministerial, Andorra has attended the presentation of the technical review of Guyana’s BTR experts, the second country to present this report after Andorra. The Principality passed this technical review last May and a similar event was held to explain the experience at the intersessional meeting that takes place annually in Bonn.
In addition, the delegation has participated in the annual meeting of the Francophonie to learn about and coordinate the different policies of the French-speaking countries in climate matters, as well as to promote cooperation between the parties.