The longer we wait to fight climate change, the more we stand to lose in terms of our life, ecosystem and economy. President Peter Pellegrini announced this on Tuesday during a speech at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku. The head of state called for joint solutions and cooperation of all countries, reports TASR.
In the beginning, Pellegrini recalled that Slovakia was also one of the countries that this year was affected by the hottest summer in the history of measurements and was accompanied by heavy rains and devastating floods.
Pellegrini: They need our solidarity
According to him, “every single country is too small” to face climate change. He emphasized the need for cooperation between all countries, including the world’s largest economies and polluters.
“Developing countries need our solidarity,” he declared and later added that Slovakia promised to contribute 2.2 million euros to the Green Climate Fund until 2027. “This will help our development partners build a cleaner future,” Pellegrini specified.
According to his words, SR has reduced emissions by almost 50 percent since 1990, and in this context he recalled the closing of the last coal mine in 2023. He also emphasized the country’s focus on low-emission energy sources – especially nuclear and renewable sources. At the same time, Slovakia is the second largest producer of nuclear energy in Europe on its way to neutrality, he added.
Billion dollar investments
“My country plans to reduce emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. To achieve the goal, we will invest 14 billion euros to decarbonize the sector and increase renewable resources to increase our resilience,” he said, adding that he is in favor of measures that do not threaten working people, the competitiveness and prosperity of the country. “If we as politicians lose the trust of our citizens, we cannot succeed. “, he stated.
Pellegrini told journalists at the subsequent briefing that Slovakia is clearly fulfilling its tasks from the Paris Agreement, its own documents and commitments. He recalled that from the point of view of energy production, it is the seventh cleanest country in the EU, and according to him, it will go even higher due to the completion of nuclear reactors. “And this will move us to a state where we will be able to announce in a very short time that 90 percent of electricity production in Slovakia will be clean,” he said.
The end of coal
He also announced that Slovakia joins the COP29 initiative called “No New Coal”, which was presented by the host Azerbaijan and whose goal is to end the production of electricity from coal. Slovakia has achieved this status and will support such activities, the president stated.
He added that he does not agree with critics who claim that Azerbaijan should not organize a climate summit due to its oil and gas production. “On the contrary, I very much welcome the fact that we are in such a country today, because even here it is shown how an economy that was previously totally dependent only on oil and gas revenues can gradually change into an economy… that can change also its energy mix towards renewable sources,” he added.
Representatives of 200 countries of the world, including more than 100 presidents and prime ministers, meet in the capital of Azerbaijan. This year’s Azerbaijani presidency of the COP bears the subtitle “In solidarity for a green world”. Negotiations at COP29 mainly focus on three areas: emission reduction, adaptation to climate change and climate finance.
As part of the three-day working program in Baku, Pellegrini met with the host of this year’s summit, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and will hold several bilateral meetings.
