Costa Rican diplomat and former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres writes for the New Statesman that the next UN climate summit, COP29, must uphold the ambition of the Paris Agreement to keep temperatures at 1.5°C. He writes: “As Azerbaijan takes the helm of climate action this year, its President Ilham Aliyev must know that the main driver of this temperature increase is the historic and ongoing burning of fossil fuels. Emissions reached a record level in 2023. year, the world cannot afford another peak. Baku has a lot to understand. Over the next seven months, he faces some tough challenges. How will it bring countries together to accelerate the global transition to renewable energy? What will it do to help unblock the flow of public and private finance that is urgently needed for vulnerable countries? What is the attitude towards the adaptation measures that need to be put in place to mitigate the worst impacts? Organizing the COP is a huge opportunity. The world will watch how Baku moves.” (Christiana Figueres, carbonbrief, more at newstatesman.com)