Assalamu alaykum, peace be upon you all. It gives me great pleasure to declare open the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. And it is my honor to address you now to deliver my final remarks as the COP President.
Your Excellencies, colleagues, friends, and members of every delegation, it is a great pleasure to join you here in Baku for the opening of COP 29. And let me begin by thanking our hosts for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. And by being here today, you have all made a choice to make a difference. And as I prepare to hand over the COP Presidency, I urge you all to prove once again that we can unite, act, and deliver.
Excellencies, friends, we meet at a time of complexity and conflict. And against this backdrop, allow me to say that we in the United Arab Emirates will always choose partnership over polarization, dialogue over division, and peace over provocation. Colleagues, it has been my honor to serve as President of COP 28. I have been humbled by the experience, and I stand before you today with a deep sense of purpose, pride, and gratitude. By delivering the historic, comprehensive, balanced, and groundbreaking UAE Consensus, we accomplished what many thought was impossible. And for this, I have many people to thank.
I want first to acknowledge His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, whose vision, guidance, and unwavering support gave us the confidence to aim for the highest ambition. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the entire United Arab Emirates leadership, and in particular the Higher Committee led by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE. I would also like to acknowledge COP 28's advisory committee, our ministerial pairs, all constituencies groups, the NGO community, and of course the entire COP 28 team. And let me recognize the tireless efforts of our High-Level Champion, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and our Youth Champion, Shamma Al Mazrui. I would also like to thank my dear colleague Simon Stiell and the UNFCCC Secretariat, who served as my faithful guides throughout this whole process. And of course, to all of you, the negotiators here today, I thank you for showing the world what real, tangible progress looks like. You united all parties to move forward together. You proved that multilateralism can move the dial. In the end, determination conquered doubt, and your hard work paid off with a first after first for climate progress.
And progress didn't end when the gavel came down on the UAE Consensus. In the months since COP 28, the initiatives we launched have gathered real momentum and real pace. The world is set to break another record of renewable energy growth this year, adding over 500 gigawatts to global capacity. 55 companies have now joined the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, committing to zero methane emissions by 2030 and net zero by or before 2050. This initiative is pragmatic, practical, and focused on real results. With participants from China, India, Russia, the US, the EU, and the Arabian Gulf, the OGDC now covers more than 44% of global production. It is the most meaningful and comprehensive private sector partnership on decarbonization to date, and we look forward to more companies joining this very important initiative. And in the spirit of proactive collaboration, earlier this month in Abu Dhabi, we convened experts in climate, energy, artificial intelligence, finance, and investment in an integrated effort to drive low-carbon growth. When sectors work together, we can lift economies and lower emissions. We can make climate and socioeconomic progress together at the same time, and we can turn declarations on paper into decisive action on the ground.
Excellencies, colleagues, the critical success factor for all climate progress is finance. We continue to call on all sources, public and private, to make finance more available, more accessible, and more affordable. Altérra, the world's largest global catalytic climate fund that was launched at COP 28, has now placed 6.5 billion of its 30 billion US dollar fund with partners focused on mature, emerging, and developing markets. These investments are attracting additional capital in a unique blended model that should be built on. We have also made progress on the Loss and Damage Fund. 853 million US dollars have been pledged to date, and we named the Philippines as the host country for the board. And let me call on every party who can to contribute. And at this COP, the Finance COP, I urge all parties to deliver a new Collective Quantified Goal that is robust and capable of fully implementing the UAE Consensus.
Excellencies, at COP 28 we broke new ground and set many precedents. One of the most important precedents was the Co-Presidency, a new mechanism for momentum that creates a bridge between COPs 28, 29, and 30. The Troika is mobilizing every multilateral platform from the UN to the G20 to solidify the legacy of the UAE Consensus. It is the roadmap for keeping 1.5 within reach and aligned with the science, and it is up to all parties to drive and deliver it.
Colleagues, partners, and my dear friends, the consensus we achieved in Dubai was truly historic. Yet history will judge us by our actions, not by our words. And my dear friend Mukhtar, as I pass the gavel to you, I want you to know that you have my friendship, my partnership, and my full support. And if I may, let me leave you with some final words of brotherly advice: let positivity prevail and let it power the process. Let actions speak louder than words. Let results outlast the rhetoric. And remember, we are what we do, not what we say. On behalf of myself and the COP 28 team, it has been my honor to serve. I have faith that COP 29 here in Azerbaijan will be another great success. Together, and as your slogan says, let us act on solidarity for a green world. Let us focus on collaboration and partnership, and let us show the world that we have the determination to unite, the responsibility to act, and the will to deliver. I thank you.
