All about COP29

Cop29 is drawing to a close in Baku, Azerbaijan; EnviroStrat’s Natasha Jacobs summarises the key takeaways from the global climate change summit.

But first, what is Cop29?

Cop stands for Conference of Parties; the summit his held annually, with this year’s conference being the 29th. Over the last two weeks, ministers, envoys, negotiators and activists have flocked to Baku to try to make progress on agreeing global commitments to fight climate change. This year finance is the hot topic, and the primary aim of the conference has been to agree a new target for how, and how much, money should be committed by wealthy nations to developing countries to help them pay for with climate-related damages. Tensions have been high, and the conference has been punctuated with some interesting moments including the Azerbaijani president calling oil a ‘gift of god’.

The summit started off on strong footing, with an agreement on the rules that will govern the trade of carbon credits (also known as Article 6), though such a quick decision was deemed by critics as rushed: “It bypasses states’ ability to even discuss, much less revise the standards before they go into effect,” Erika Lennon, a senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law said.

Article 6 continued to garner attention, reaching an agreement on Article 6.4 –  that is, a centralised carbon market managed by the UN – was a key ambition this year. This was attempted at last year’s COP, but no decision was made over the types of credits, and the methodologies to generate them, that would be eligible for trading.

COP ‘till we drop!

DAY 1 AND PREP

Thematic days:

1. Finance, Investment, Trade
2. Energy / Peace Relief and Recovery
3. Science, Technology and Innovation / Digitisation
4. Human Development / Children and Youth / Education
5. Food, Agriculture and Water
6. Urbanisation / Transport / Tourism
7. Nature and Biodiversity / Indigenous Peoples / Gender Equality / Oceans and Coastal Zones

• Finance, Investment and Trade – New annual climate financing target: New Collective Quantified Goal. The funds needed are too high (i.e. in the trillions) to feasibly come from countries’ budgets. This year discussions will therefore look at restructuring the lending system to reduce financial risks and encourage high private capital investments. To encourage a consensus approval, COP hosts Azerbaijan have said that a number in the ‘hundreds of billions’ is more realistic. Funds for Loss and Damage are also falling short; approximately $700 million has been pledged since last year, but is still nowhere near the $580 billion in damages developing countries are facing as a result of climate change.
• Carbon Credits – Regulations on global carbon trading – as per Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (explainer here)- were predicted as a focus of the discussions this year. The UN has expressed plans to establish its own, centralised carbon market, designed for countries, rather than companies (Article 6.4). This was attempted at last year’s COP, but no decision was made over the types of credits, and the methodologies to generate them, that would be eligible for trading. Reaching a consensus on Article 6 would be a big win for this year’s COP.  NZ’s Climate Minister has in fact been selected to co-chair the negotiations on carbon markets.

 

DAY 2

• Article 6 – Diplomats have reached an agreement on the rules that will govern the trade of carbon credits (Article 6), though critics have called the decision rushed and concerning: ‘it bypasses states’ ability to even discuss, much less revise the standards before they go into effect.’ – Erika Lennon, a senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law . If successful, the new rules should reduce the risk of double counting emissions and include better human right safeguarding standards.
• Greta Thunberg is staging a protest in Tbilisi, Georgia (the closest she can get to Baku without flying, as Azerbaijan have closed their land borders), against COP29 due to its oppressive regime: ‘Aliyev have kept people oppressed, fostering poverty, fear, and silence.’

 

DAY 3

• Keir Starmer confirmed Britain’s new NDC or Nationally Determined Contribution – a climate action plan that countries submit to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every five years – of an 81% reduction in GHG compared to 1990 levels, by 2035. The cut will be met by decarbonising the electricity sector, as well additional policies encouraging greener transport options and switching to electric heat pumps for heating (currently gas boilers/ central heating are in most homes).
• UN Chief António Guterres addressed the Cop, calling this year a ‘masterclass in human destruction’, with the disasters we’ve seen over the last months being ‘supercharged by human-made climate change’.
• The Loss and Damage Fund is still falling short- this fund was established two years ago in a landmark agreement to support vulnerable countries pay for climate-related damages they are facing. Mr Guterres urged developed nations to up their contributions, “in the name of justice”. $700m has so far been committed, but this “doesn’t come close to righting the wrong inflicted on the vulnerable”, who require an estimated $200-400 billion annually.
• Azerbaijan President called natural resources such as oil and gas a ‘gift of god’…

 

DAY 4

• MDB Finance: A group of development banks, namely the African Development Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the New Development Bank, and the World Bank Group, together have announced a joint goal of $120 billion by 2030, a 60% increase on the amount committed in 2023.

 

DAY 5

• Common ground: The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, known for being a strong advocate for climate action, has asked Donald Trump for a face-to-face meeting to discuss climate change.
• Overshooting 1.5: Climate Action Network’s report found that current policies would lead to a disastrous 2.7C of warming. Read it here.

 

DAY 6

• A new text on Article 6.4, relating to the UN-facilitated carbon market, has been released.

 

DAY 8 

• New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance – $200-300 bn is needed annually, though this number hasn’t been confirmed yet. The deadline is also being discussed; poorer countries are asking for a 2030 deadline, while the EU has proposed 2035. Two funding targets have been proposed, one for public finance and one for all sources, including private investment.
• The UK and the US have partnered to develop and establish nuclear technology. The deal aims to financially support nuclear research and development, to be made available to the industry by 2030.

 

DAY 9

• The UK and Australia have signed a new climate and energy partnership, focusing on co-operation on net zero technology, including hydrogen, offshore wind, clean energy storage and transport, and creating common standards for this tech.
• New Zealand has also joined forces with the UK and Colombia in a Coalition to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies (COFFIS). It now has 16 members, though ministers could not name a fossil fuel subsidy that has been phased out since its launch.
• It’s not just cows: The Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration was also launched, and signed by over 30 states, including seven of the 10 largest organic waste methane producers. Methane is at least 30x as potent as CO2 (though in terms of atmospheric lifetime:Methane stays in the atmosphere for about 12 years, while CO2 stays for centuries).
• US agri: The US Agriculture Department has pledged $7.7 bn in conservation programmes into next year. The US secretary has said the funds have come from the Inflation Reduction Act. He said that the continuation of the funding will require the support of the beneficiaries from the funds, but that he believes there to be enough support in Congress to prolong the funding.
• Gender debate: Saudi Arabia, the Vatican and Russia are leading a call to stop the world talking about the ‘feminisation of climate change’ (i.e. that globally, women are disproportionately affected by climate change and global warming). Text on gender equality at Cop have, as a result, been brought to a standstill until diplomats are able to agree.

 

DAY 10

• More agri: 27 countries have urged China and the OECD to introduce a GHG emission price for agri-food systems. This could reduce national emissions by up to 3%, with the idea being that at least 20% of the revenue generated to be channelled into the Loss and Damage Fund.  This impacts NZ directly – who are the 27 countries, NZ has just passed a third reading of the amendment that will remove the initiative to put a price on emissions in agriculture
• Off-track: The Climate Change Performance Index was launched in Baku last week, assessing 63 countries, plus the EU, that are responsible for 90% of global emissions. Spots 1-3 were empty, with the report stating that no country is doing enough to achieve these positions. The UK and India were the only countries in the G20 to fall in the ‘high performers’ group. The UK rose 14 places in the Index, now sitting in 6th place. New Zealand fell 7 places to 41ST place (though still beating Australia at 52). Read the report here.
• Loss and Damage: Australia has pledged A$50 million towards the Loss and Damage Fund. This comes with global criticism as the country continues support for coal and gas expansion while claiming it aims to be a ‘renewable energy superpower’.
• Race for 31: Australia and Turkey are in a standoff to host COP31, to be held in 2026.
• Article 6: A new text on Article 6 is due any moment – the tension so far has been surrounding the role of registries and the functionality of a centralised UN mechanism.