“Billions of people are counting on you, so we need all hands on deck.”
Mukhtar Babaev, the next COP29 President-designate, signed a letter to attendees of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Discussion at the conference will focus on two broad areas: raising ambition and enabling action. In this context, how countries will build on the historic “beginning of the end” agreement to transition away from fossil fuels signed at COP28, and the stronger national climate change commitments that countries are required to make. The focus will be on how to set countermeasure targets. Submit by 2025.
“The impacts of the climate crisis are now undeniable in our daily lives, and this COP is a pivotal moment to begin tackling climate change and deploying real decarbonization solutions to communities around the world.” Hiroshi Matsuda, Chief Regional Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group. Attend a meeting. “At the same time, we must ensure that these solutions are fair and just. They must reach everyone, everywhere.”
Here are three key areas where COP29 will aim to advance this goal.
Climate finance for developing countries
The world’s lowest-income countries currently produce one-tenth of the world’s emissions and are among the most affected by climate change. Similarly, many developing countries are likely to see their share of emissions increase as their populations and economies grow.
However, according to the United Nations Development Programme, the fundamental barrier to accelerating climate action in developing countries is finance. Mobilizing support from developed countries by agreeing “fair and ambitious” new collective quantitative targets (NCQGs) on climate finance is a key point on the COP29 agenda.
The NCQG is a fundamental element of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The goal was created to help developing countries fight climate change by replacing the existing target of $100 billion per year with a new, needs-based target that better reflects evolving conditions. I did. This goal was achieved for the first time in 2022.
The new goal, to be adopted in Baku this year, will direct more funding to urgently needed solutions such as energy, transport and agriculture. But as the World Resources Institute points out, progress on the NCQG has been slow so far, with everything from the amount needed to which countries should contribute still being considered.
COP29 UNIDO panel to discuss renewable energy in the Global South
Financing challenges will be a topic of conversation at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) panel on “Accelerating net-zero industrial development through innovation and trade in clean energy and materials.” At the event, representatives including UNIDO, developing countries, and suppliers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., will demonstrate how countries in the Global South with high potential for renewable energy and mineral resources can produce clean fuels and materials and create value. discuss how they can play a key role in creating. export.
Focus on climate adaptation
The existing $100 billion climate finance target covers both emissions reduction efforts, known as mitigation, and adaptation, known as building resilience to climate impacts. This includes everything from planting drought-tolerant crop varieties to building stronger defenses against flooding and extreme heat.
COP29 participants have an opportunity to prioritize achieving the right balance between these two important areas.
It comes at a critical time. Climate adaptation needs to move faster, but progress is slowing, according to a report from the United Nations Environment Program. According to the report, developing countries’ adaptation financing needs are up to 18 times greater than international public financial flows, with the current gap estimated at between $194 billion and $366 billion annually. At the same time, adaptation planning and implementation has reached a plateau.
The COP29 Presidency called on developed countries to make “significant progress” in at least doubling adaptation financing by 2025. The potential role of the private sector in bridging the gap is also likely to be discussed.
Building a better carbon market
Implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, considered critical to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, is another major focus of this year’s COP.
A key part of the agreement, Article 6, focuses on the development of carbon markets, where countries, companies and individuals can buy and sell greenhouse gas emissions rights, also known as carbon credits.
These markets allow one company to offset its emissions by purchasing credits from another company that remove or reduce greenhouse gases. While these are seen as a promising way to direct funds to green projects, questions have also been raised about transparency and whether credits will always drive actual emissions reductions when needed.
The council is expected to work to make Article 6 a “realization”. This could play an important role in improving these markets by establishing a stronger framework for international carbon trading.
Financing for climate adaptation is on the COP29 agenda
As the COP29 President notes in a letter to parties and constituencies, there are strong calls for progress in the conference on all areas of the Paris Agreement, but climate finance is likely to be at the center of the discussion.
