Armenian, Fijian environment ministers discuss cooperation on biodiversity, climate change at COP31

Armenian Minister of Environment Hambardzum Matevosyan met with Fiji’s Minister for Information, Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya and Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr. Sivendra Michael in Antalya, Türkiye, on the sidelines of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“I expressed my gratitude for Fiji’s active engagement in COP17 and its contribution to reaching agreements in complex negotiations. I particularly appreciated Dr. Sivendra Michael’s contribution to bringing the positions of the Parties closer together and supporting the work of the Armenian presidency. Our Fijian partners highly praised the organization and hosting of COP17 in Armenia, as well as the decisions adopted, particularly the ‘Yerevan Pathway’ in terms of accelerating the achievement of global biodiversity targets,” Matevosyan said in a Facebook post.

He said they discussed opportunities to continue cooperation on biodiversity conservation and combating climate change.

“I emphasized our readiness to continue joint efforts to implement the Yerevan decisions. We also addressed issues related to adapting to the impacts of climate change and strengthening ecosystem resilience. I emphasized the need to advance climate and biodiversity goals in an interconnected manner through financing, capacity building and access to technology. I stressed the importance of strengthening synergies among the three UN conventions on climate change, biodiversity and combating desertification through the coordination and complementarity of actions undertaken under their frameworks,” the minister added.