COP29 Focuses on Global Climate Finance Goals

The Conference of Parties (COP) refers to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) international gathering on climate change. The UNFCCC COP is an annual climate summit that gathers heads of governments, business leaders, climate and environment advocates, and civil society and academia representatives.

The COP is the main decision-making body of the UNFCCC. Parties or representatives of countries come together to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted to them and negotiate new measures. Based on this information, the COP assesses the effects of the measures taken by the parties and the progress made in achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention.

This year’s COP, the 29th Conference of Parties, or COP29, is being held in Baku from 11 to 22 November 2024, with 50,000 delegates attending.

With temperatures hitting record highs and greenhouse gas levels surging to a new record, the planet will be committing to rising temperatures for many years to come, according to a 2024 WMO report.

What defines COP29 from the previous COP is the focus on climate finance. It will be the first time in 15 years that all nations will establish a new global climate finance goal to replace the $100 billion annual goal set in 2009.

According to the UN, trillions of dollars are required for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change. The success or failure of this year’s COP will hinge on whether leaders can agree on a new climate finance goal.

The video below of World Research Institute president and CEO Ani Dasgupta highlights three things the organisation wants to see achieved during COP29:

• First, leaders must agree on an ambitious new climate finance goal to mitigate the suffering of those most affected by climate change.
• Second, countries must demonstrate how they are progressing on their climate pledges, such as transitioning away from fossil fuels, stopping deforestation, and transitioning the food systems.
• Third, countries, particularly high emitters, must commit to more ambitious and bold climate actions in their updated NDCs, which are due early next year.

As host to the world’s foremost climate summit, Azerbaijan’s progress on climate actions and plans is in the spotlight.

The Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific project that tracks government climate action and evaluates it against the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting warming well below 2°C, gives a lacklustre assessment of Azerbaijan’s climate action progress, labelling it “critically insufficient”. 

The assessment published on 25 September notes, “Overall, Azerbaijan’s target and current policies are far from consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit. Total GHG emissions are projected to continue rising by around 20% by 2030, in stark contrast to the emissions reductions necessary to meet its climate commitments. Energy-related methane emissions are increasing quickly, whereas, for 1.5°C alignment, they would need to drop by about 66% below 2020 levels by 2030.”

“Azerbaijan appears to have abandoned its 2030 emissions target, moving backwards instead of forward on climate action. Its renewable energy targets remain weak. Azerbaijan’s economy depends on fossil fuel production, and the government plans to increase fossil gas extraction by more than 30% over the coming decade. Emissions from exported fossil fuels are twice as high as domestic emissions.”

It urges the country to set a more stringent climate change target and significantly increase its climate ambition to reverse its rapid emissions growth.

On the COP29 official site, Azerbaijan announces its new commitment to increasing its renewable energy potential to reduce GHG emissions by 40% by 2050 and increase renewable power capacity by 30% by 2030. It also plans to update its NDC.