Get out the maps for our trek to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The conference is in November, so there is time to prepare our route. We can pack in more knowledge, collect more perspectives to reach for success at the “Finance COP.”
Background
The Republic of Azerbaijan is hosting the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“COP29”). It is scheduled to open on Monday, November 11, 2024 and close on Friday November 22nd.
The COP is a series of formal meetings for governments to assess global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. World leaders convene to measure progress and negotiate the best ways to address climate change. There are now 198 Parties (197 countries plus the European Union) to the Convention, “constituting near universal membership.”
As noted on the official COP29 website:
“We all have a moral duty to avoid overshooting the 1.5°C temperature target. But the window of opportunity is closing and we must focus on the need to invest today to save tomorrow.” – from the UN’s Framework for Action
From the perspective of climate-vulnerable developing countries, COP29 presents opportunities to secure resources and commitments to enable transition to low-emission economies and to build resilience against the impacts of climate change. Access to essential financial resources is needed, for example, for mitigation and adaptation projects.
(Here is a sampling of international adaptation projects that can be funded through the United Nations Environment Programme)
The “Finance COP”
COP29 is dubbed the “Finance COP” because negotiations for a new climate finance goal will dominate the agenda. As noted in the Financial Times: “The UN climate summit held in Baku this year must prioritise finance and unlock new sources of funding to tackle climate change.”
Nigel Topping, who represented the UK at COP26 in Glasgow, said: “It’s finance, finance, finance. Every COP from now on is a finance COP.”
But others caution that the governments represented at COP29 need help and cannot reach financial goals without more assistance from financial institutions. For example, Mukhtar Babayev, the Azerbaijani minister to preside at COP29, criticized the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for not stepping up with more support.
Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Minister
Another issue is whether China will contribute as a donor country or continue to participate as a developing country. According to a Bloomberg study, China is not only the second largest economy in the world, but “currently the world’s biggest emitter.”
At the April Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock, reflected upon an increasingly common thought – the pool of donor nations should broaden to include China.
“The world has changed since 1992,” Baerbock told delegates in Berlin. Back then, she said, the richest countries made up 87% of the global economy but now account for only half. “I strongly urge those who can to join our effort, and particularly the strongest polluters of today.”
Future Blogs
This is the first in a series of Guest Blogs by Amy Quirk leading up to COP29, the “Finance COP.” The goals are:
- To develop a common understanding of the basic financial issues likely to arise at COP29;
- To present some perspectives on those issues; and
- To offer resources and pathways for your participation in the process of reaching for resolutions of those financial issues at COP29 and beyond.
As we take this trek to Baku, Azerbaijan together in the coming months, we will also explore the role of our State of California in COP29. Although California is technically not a party to the COP negotiations, because we are not a national government, our state’s delegation gas historically significant engagements within the COPs.
Priority Legislation Review for June 4th Lobby Day