The Congolese head of State, who is attending the 29th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku, Azerbaijan, together with other African countries, proposed an initiative to include the natural capital of the States in the calculation of their gross domestic product (GDP).

In his remarks at the high-level segment, Sassou-N’Guesso highlighted the actions implemented by his country as part of global efforts to combat climate change and the disappearance of biodiversity.

He commented that Congo has taken action to preserve the environment as a central element of its national policy and the axis of its commitment in the international scene, as demonstrated by the holding of the 1st International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation in July 2024.

The event focused on the defense and preservation of forests, due to their vital role in regulating the climate, and sought to extend the initiative of afforestation and reforestation to other regions of the world.

Congo also presented the proposal for a resolution on the World Decade of Reforestation at the UN General Assembly, the president added.

Sassou-N’Guesso warned that new climate finance agreements must not remain on paper, as was the case in the 2015 Paris Agreement, when the amount to be mobilized was set at 100 billion dollars a year, but it has not been fully implemented in practice.

He added that this aspect has not lived up to the commitment made by the countries and has not honored the prospect of climate justice and a fair energy transition, aspects that the new agreement must take into account.

The Congolese president referred in particular to developing countries, which require aid to take the actions necessary to adapt to climate change without increasing the heavy burden of the debt, while facing severe climate events.

He considered the application of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to be a positive step, which will allow countries to offset their carbon dioxide emissions by investing in environmental projects, which in his opinion will pave the way to cooperation.

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