COP stands for Conference of the Parties and is an annual climate meeting run by the UN. It is attended by up to 50,000 delegates from around the globe including members of the UN, diplomats, scientists, political leaders, businesses and environmental activists.
Officials convened to assess progress toward achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 as outlined in the Paris Agreement. To keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C within reach, emissions must be reduced by nearly half over the next five years.
Where and when was COP29?
COP29 took place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and ran from 11-22 November. Baku is a controversial host as Azerbaijan is a major oil producer. The COP29 President was Mukhtar Babayev.
Before the conference, Azerbaijan unveiled a range of initiatives to be launched at COP29. These include the creation of a new Climate Finance Action Fund aimed at supporting green investments in developing countries, along with commitments to enhance energy storage, curb methane emissions, and strengthen climate resilience.
COP29 topics and reactions
Each COP has a different theme, for COP29 the theme was ‘finance COP’. A key debate was the extent to which wealthier countries support poorer countries to cope with the impact of climate change.
The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) sets a financial target, outlining the annual funding required to support climate action initiatives in developing countries.
Annual funding amounting to $300bn (around £240bn) was agreed upon as part of the Baku breakthrough, an increase from the current levels of £100bn a year (£79.8bn). However, there has been mixed reactions. India’s delegate Chandni Raina described it as a “paltry sum”.
Stephen Cornelius, WWF’s Global deputy lead, said the outcome “completely misses the mark.” The WWF had been advocating for a sum of around $1trn.
Whereas, UN Secretary General António Guterres, had “hoped for a more ambitious outcome”.
President Biden did not attend and neither did the leaders of China, Brazil, Germany and France.
The UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer and UK Energy Security and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband both attended COP29. The Prime Minister announced a drastic cut to the UK’s carbon emissions by 81% and reinforced the message that the journey to net-zero is an opportunity for growth and is not bad for business.
Carbon market progress
COP29 marked significant progress with the long-awaited implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, despite ongoing concerns about climate finance. On the opening day, countries agreed on carbon market standards under Article 6.4, which aims to create verified carbon credits for emission reductions and investments, especially in developing nations. Article 6.2 was also updated, promoting transparency through the publication of Internationally Traded Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs). However, concerns remain about loopholes allowing non-compliance and low-quality credits.
The deal includes compromises, such as EU-led support for under-resourced nations and safeguards preventing automatic UN endorsement of traded credits. While unresolved integrity issues persist, the agreement bolsters investor confidence in carbon markets. The UN projects financial flows into this market could reach $1 trillion annually by 2050. Additionally, negotiations finalised preparations for the Fund for Loss and Damage to distribute funding by 2025.
COP30 will be held in Belem, Brazil, in 2025. The outcome of COP29 suggests even more work will need to be done at that event to keep global warming in check and cut the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.
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