Israeli climate envoy hopes education memorandum with Azerbaijan will become regional initiative

Israel hopes that the memorandum on educational cooperation with Azerbaijan will become a regional initiative that other countries will join, Israel's Ambassador for Climate Change and Sustainability Gideon Behar told Report.

"We hope that ultimately this will become a regional program on climate education where Azerbaijan and Israel will lead, and other countries will join," Behar said. Speaking about the negotiations at COP29, Behar expressed satisfaction with the agreement on Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement on the first day of the conference.

"We believe this opens up great opportunities for business and for improving the climate situation. Today we really need to get rid of the large amounts of CO2 and other emissions released into the atmosphere," he said.

Behar also noted that Israeli companies are actively cooperating with the Azerbaijani government in fighting climate change. "We have the Mekorot water resources company that actively cooperates with Azerbaijan, as the water resources problem is becoming increasingly relevant," he said. According to him, water reuse technologies used in Israel could also be applied in Azerbaijan.

"Israel is ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan in many areas, including agriculture. We believe there are good prospects between the two countries in energy and innovation as well," the ambassador said.

The ambassador emphasized that climate financing is a key topic at COP29. "We understand that developing countries should receive more climate financing because the climate crisis is accelerating, and damages and disasters are on the rise. Therefore, there is a need to allocate more funds," he said.

Behar also thanked Azerbaijan for the excellent organization of COP29.