Background
COP 29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.
In essence, COP is where global leaders gather to make decisions on actions to combat the climate crisis. This includes efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, support vulnerable communities in adapting to climate impacts, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A central focus of COP 29 was to establish a new climate finance target, ensuring all nations have the resources to implement stronger climate measures, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build resilient communities.
Our professional organisation, IEMA, participated as an official observer [1] at the conference and shared valuable insights during a webinar that included a Q&A session. Here are some key takeaways from that event.
Current situation – the global stock take
At the COP there was a review of the global stock take which set out the current state of play:
….”that significant collective progress towards the Paris Agreement temperature goal has been made, from an expected global temperature increase of 4 °C according to some projections prior to the adoption of the agreement to an increase in the range of 2.1–2.8 °C with the full implementation of the latest nationally determined contributions”
….but
“Notes with concern the findings of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that policies implemented by the end of 2020 are projected to result in higher global greenhouse gas emissions than those implied by the nationally determined contributions, indicating an implementation gap”
The finance COP
This COP 29 was billed as the “Finance COP” – mitigation, adaptation and loss & damage. In the end a framework was agreed:
- $1.3 trillion will be needed
- Developed countries are to “provide” $300bn by 2035 – it is likely that ~85% is to come from private sector
Article 6 – Rules were agreed, key ones of which are:
- Article 6.2 rules for country-country trading of CO2 emissions
- Article 6.4 rules for assessing and linking voluntary carbon markets overseen by the UN
- International registry, with the option to issue credits at the request of countries
There was decreasing appetite for nature-based solutions to offset CO2 emissions. This was because there were issues about permanence e.g. wildfires destroy forests which may have been planted to sequester CO2. When they burn, they emit all the CO2 back into the atmosphere.
Despite the $1.3 trillion agreed framework, there was debate how the money would be made available: would it be “provided” or “mobilised”; “granted” or “no-grant based”; conditions attached or not.
There was mention of a rewire of global finance system. The understanding was that following the credit crunch in 2008, banks were required to keep large levels of reserves to underwrite their lending. The banks are now seeking to have these reserve levels reduced, which means they can lend more, on the proviso that this lending is directed to projects that help reduce the climate crisis.
Other issues
CBAM – a lot of countries are still against CBAM as they are worried about it affecting jobs in developing countries.
Corporate Reporting Directives are having an effect in helping to reduce CO2 emissions.
Energy efficiency is recognised as being the most effective way to reduce emissions up to 2030.
Populist governments – no matter what Government is in power in any part of the world, climate change is going to affect them and their populations. In addition, they tend not to want to rely on imports, so not having to rely on fossil fuels may help. As an anecdote, it was noted that during President Trump’s previous presidency, more coal fired power stations were shut down than in any other previous presidency.
IEMA campaigned for green training and skills which are going to be vital in the transition to a sustainable world [2].
What next?
If you need help establishing your carbon footprint or identifying energy efficiency options for your organisation and/or buildings, please be in touch: [email protected]
[1] https://www.iema.net/articles/cop29-week-one-roundup-and-reflections-from-iema/
[2] https://www.iema.net/learn/green-skills-and-careers/
Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash