An event on climate change and migration held within the framework of the "29 Climate Conversations: The Road to COP29" series

As part of the "29 Climate Conversations: The Road to COP29" series, the State Migration Service and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) jointly organized an event on "Climate change and migration: evidence and understanding migration as adaptation." The purpose of the event is to contribute to expanding dialogues on climate change and human mobility ahead of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which Azerbaijan will host in November 2024, and to explore the nexus between migration, climate change, and the environment.

In his opening speech, Vusal Huseynov, the Chief of the State Migration Service, II rank state migration service counselor, emphasized the importance of the event dedicated to the complex relationship between climate change and human mobility as part of the 29 Climate Conversations series. He stated that addressing the challenges of migration caused by climate change requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach. Vusal Huseynov also highlighted the importance of the inclusion of climate-induces migration issues in the 2024 World Migration Report prepared by the IOM.

The Chief of Service noted that the recommendations made during the High-Level Roundtable on "Climate, Peace and Human Mobility" co-hosted by Azerbaijan's COP29 Presidency and the IOM at the UN headquarters in New York during the "High-Level Week" of the UN General Assembly, have laid a strong foundation for discussions on these issues ahead of COP29. At the same time, he expressed his hope that the link between migration, the environment, and climate change will be the main topic of high-level roundtable discussions to be jointly organized by the State Migration Service and the IOM during COP29, and today’s event will also contribute to these discussions.

In her opening remarks, Vladanka Andreeva, the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, emphasized the importance of the increasing impact of climate change on migration as Azerbaijan prepares to host COP29.

Elshad Iskandarov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, highlighted Azerbaijan's role in revitalizing global discussions on climate change and addressing issues related to human mobility in the context of climate change.

Then the 2024 World Migration Report and its section dedicated to the relationship between migration, the environment, and climate change was presented.

Additionally, panel discussions on various aspects of migration caused by climate change were held at the event, with the participation of Kanako Mabuchi, Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Azerbaijan, Bariz Mehdiyev, Deputy Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Azerbaijan, Adrian Kitimbo, IOM World Migration Report researcher, Soumyadeep Banerjee, IOM regional expert on environment and climate change, and Ulvi Aliyev, Chief of the International Cooperation Department of the State Migration Service, moderated by Troy Dooley, the Head of the IOM Representation in Azerbaijan.