Joint Statement: Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience

Baku, 18 September 2024 – We, the representatives of international organizations, multilateral development banks, and international climate and environmental funds, convened at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 18 November 2024,

NOTING the urgent need to address the complex challenges posed by climate change and its impacts on human development and acknowledging the significance of a multi-sectoral approach in tackling these challenges;

RECALLING the shared commitment to advancing the agenda on Human Development for Climate Resilience, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

RECOGNIZING the importance of integrating health, education, social protection, and decent jobs, as well as skills development, into climate action to enhance mitigation, resilience, adaptive capacities, and the overall well-being of current and future populations, particularly workers at risk of losing their jobs, women, children, youth, migrants, displaced people and other vulnerable groups, as recognized through commitments such as the Declaration on Children, Youth, and Climate Action, the COP26 Just Transition Declaration, the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health, and the Declaration on the Common Agenda for Education and Climate Change;

UNDERLINING the critical role of strengthening global partnerships and enhancing collaborative efforts to drive transformative change and build adaptive capacities at local, regional, and global levels, as seen in initiatives such as the Greening Education Partnership, the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative and the Climate Action for Jobs Initiative;

RECOGNIZING that investments in human development not only build and enhance resilience to climate change but also fuel solutions to tackle it;

EMPHASIZING the need to foster technological and community-based innovations and leverage collective expertise to create scalable solutions that address both the immediate and long-term impacts of climate change on human development;

STRESSING the importance of social dialogue among governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, along with relevant stakeholder engagement, in the design and implementation of climate policies to ensure adequate health, education, skills development, and social protection, all of which are essential for building climate-resilient populations;

EXPRESSING a shared vision of empowering communities and ensuring that climate action strategies are inclusive, equitable, and designed to promote sustainable development and facilitate a just transition, leaving no one behind;

WELCOMING the first-ever Human Development Day within the framework of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the COP29 Presidency-led “Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience.” This initiative aims to address intersectoral synergies and complementarities between greening education, health, social protection, decent jobs, and skills development to enhance climate resilience, with a special focus on workers at risk of losing their jobs, workers in the informal economy, women, children, youth, migrants, displaced people, and other vulnerable groups;

We affirm our commitment to strengthening our respective and shared efforts, including through voluntary partnerships, initiatives, and coalitions. We will work collaboratively and expeditiously to pursue the following common objectives:

• Enhancing cooperation to address the impacts of climate change on human development, focusing on education, health, social protection, decent jobs, and skills development, with particular attention to the needs of children and youth;
• Promoting human development as a key lever for building climate resilience, with particular focus on women, children and youth, migrants, displaced people, workers who have lost or are at risk of losing their jobs, workers in the informal economy, and other vulnerable groups, through integrated and coordinated actions that are age- and gender-responsive;
• Bridging global efforts on climate and human development for greater synergy, complementarity, and maximum impact;
• Strengthening dialogue at the intersection between climate policy and human development, including Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans;
• Scaling up age- and gender-responsive climate finance for investments in human development, including education, health, social protection, decent jobs, and skills development, while promoting synergies and efficiency in funding through multi- stakeholder partnerships and coordination.

In order to realize the objectives mentioned above, we aim to cooperate in the following areas:

• Engaging in systematic and coherent activities that address the intersection of climate change and human development. This includes joint initiatives and efforts to maximize impact across relevant sectors;
• Actively supporting and facilitating dialogue and collaboration among social partners and relevant stakeholders, including both public and private sectors, in order to effectively address the emerging challenges and opportunities at the intersection of climate change and human development;
• Continuing to support the mobilization and catalyzation of climate finance that is age- and gender-responsive, to promote strategic initiatives in education, health, social protection, employment, and skills development.

With this joint statement, we reaffirm our collective commitment to advancing human development as a cornerstone of climate resilience and pledge to work together to ensure that climate action is inclusive, promotes intergenerational equity, and is guided by the COP-29. Presidency-led “Baku Guiding Principles on Human Development for Climate Resilience”.

We commit to working together to ensure that each partnership, initiative, or coalition enhances the coordination of actions, promotes the sharing of information, knowledge, and good practices at national, regional, and global levels, and enhances the impact of investments in human development. In doing so, we can maximize synergies, avoid duplication of efforts, and ensure the efficient use of our collective resources, contributing to a climate-resilient future for all.

Joint Statement by:

COP 29

International Organization for Migration

United Nation Development Programme  

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization  

International Labour Organization

United Nations Children’s Fund

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

World Health Organization (WHO)

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

The Global Fund

Adaptation Fund

Asian Development Bank

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Islamic Development Bank (ISDB)

Green Climate Fund