The Impact of COP29 on Climate Change Policy and the Development of the Green Finance Market in Azerbaijan

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of COP29, hosted in Baku in 2024, on Azerbaijan’s climate diplomacy and the development of green finance instruments. Employing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models on a simulated dataset (2010–2030), we find that while the event of COP29 itself had statistically insignificant short-term effects, long-term green investments significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (β = 1.034, p < 0.001). COP29 catalyzed reforms in ESG regulation, market infrastructure, and international visibility. We propose policy measures including legal harmonization with EU CSRD, a dedicated Green Bond Law, and the creation of a sovereign green taxonomy.