Cop29 the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in November 2024, is a global climate summit that brings together representatives from nearly 200 countries, political leaders, international organizations and climate experts. Its objective is to negotiate agreements to address the global climate crisis in a coordinated manner, in line with the commitments of the Paris Agreement.
Held in Baku, Azerbaijan, this 2024 edition focused on climate finance and carbon markets. These aspects are essential to combat climate change and support the most vulnerable nations in their transition to circular and sustainable economies.
Main COP29 agreements
New climate finance target
A historic commitment has been made to triple annual finance to developing countries, reaching $300 billion by 2035. This target, known as the New Collective Quantified Quantified Goal (NCQG), aims to increase climate investment to $1.3 trillion per year by 2035. This fund will be earmarked for:
-Protect vulnerable communities from climate disasters.
-Promoting clean energy.
-Supporting the transition to sustainable economies.
According to Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, this funding is essential to ensure an effective response to climate impacts and to deliver on pledges made at previous summits.
Progress on carbon markets (Article 6 of the Paris Agreement)
For the first time, definitive agreements were reached on how carbon markets will work, both centrally and in trade between countries. These developments include:
-Clear rules for authorising and tracking carbon credits, ensuring environmental integrity through technical reviews.
-Mechanisms that allow developing countries, especially the most vulnerable ones, to access carbon finance.
-Strict controls to protect the environment and human rights, ensuring consultation and consent of affected indigenous communities.
The centralised mechanism, called the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, states that the market should be aligned with climate science, encouraging responsible investments in emission reduction projects.
Transparency and climate monitoring
Major strides were made in climate transparency, with 13 countries submitting their first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs). These reports are fundamental to:
-Identify funding needs.
-Establish a sound basis for future climate policies.
In addition, capacity building tools for developing countries were promoted, strengthening technical capacity to report climate progress accurately and transparently.
Climate adaptation
COP29 presented a renewed focus on adaptation, including:
-A programme to implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) in least developed countries.
-The establishment of the Baku Roadmap on Adaptation, with the aim of transforming plans into concrete results by 2025.
-The establishment of the Baku Roadmap on Adaptation, with the aim of transforming plans into concrete results by 2025.
Recognition of indigenous communities and gender
The conference highlighted the crucial role of indigenous peoples in climate action, adopting the Baku Work Plan, which fosters collaboration with these communities and renews the mandate of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG).
In terms of gender equality, it expanded the Lima Work Program on Gender for another 10 years and agreed to develop a new action plan to be adopted at the next COP30.
Youth participation and civil society
For the first time, the COP included a youth-led Climate Forum, where children and adolescents participated as moderators and speakers. This space underlined the importance of intergenerational inclusion in climate action.
In addition, more than 55,000 people, including representatives of civil society, business and sub-national governments, participated in the Global Climate Action Space, a platform for sharing innovative climate solutions.
Challenges and criticisms at COP29
Despite progress, COP29 left multiple challenges and points of controversy:
-Insufficient financing: Developing nations, which had called for support in excess of $1 trillion, called the agreements insufficient and criticised that the targets fall far short of the scale of the climate crisis.
-Lack of consensus on fossil fuels: An explicit commitment to phase out the use of fossil fuels was not included in the text, due to pressure from producer countries such as Saudi Arabia. This left a significant gap in the energy transition discussions.
-Complexity of implementation: While progress on carbon markets was welcomed, technical details still need to be developed to ensure their effectiveness and to avoid abuses.
-Geopolitical divisions: The summit was marked by disagreements between major emitters and the most vulnerable nations, making it difficult to adopt more ambitious measures.
Future perspectives after COP29
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the agreement as a ‘foundation on which to build’, and stressed the urgency of turning commitments into swift action. Looking ahead to COP30, progress is expected to be made on financing targets and on designing more ambitious strategies to reduce global emissions and ensure a sustainable future.
COP29 marked a step forward, but the global effort still needs to be consolidated to address climate challenges with the forcefulness that the crisis demands.
We will be watching developments at next year’s COP30, which for the first time will be held in the Amazon (Brazil) to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. From Cator we will be attentive.
