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COP29: All you need to know about the upcoming climate change conference
Thousands of representatives from all over the globe are meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the next round of climate talks.
Nations will meet at COP29 as part of the United Nations’ annual climate conference to discuss the future of our changing Earth.
What is COP29?
COP29 is a global climate conference organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP stands for the Conference of the Parties, and brings together the 197 nations who are part of this agreement.
The first COP was held in 1995 in Germany, and used to be held every two years. However, it has now become an annual event as the impacts of climate change become more severe.
When is COP29?
COP29 will begin on the 11th November 2024 and will last just under two weeks, with a scheduled conclusion on 22nd November. However, previous COPs have run over as nations take extra time to finalise the new agreements.
Delegates to this climate meeting will be hoping to avoid the outcome of the recent biodiversity COP, which ran out of time to make many important decisions.
A variety of events will take place on each day of the conference, starting at 09.00 and ending at 16.30 AZT. Negotiations will continue in the background throughout the event with many heads of state expected to take part in the World Leaders Climate Action Summit on the 12th and 13th November.
Where is COP29?
COP29 is being held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. The choice of host has been controversial, as the country is one of the world’s major oil producers.
Before the conference, Azerbaijan announced a series of initiatives it would launch at COP29. These include the establishment of a new Climate Finance Action Fund to fund investments in green projects in developing nations, as well as pledges to boost energy storage, reduce methane emissions and improve climate resilience.
Some estimates suggest trillions of dollars will be needed to tackle climate change effectively. © Carrie3372/ Shutterstock
Discussing finance at COP29
Finance is taking centre stage at COP29 as countries come to terms with the vast sums of money needed to protect our societies from the worst impacts of climate change and make them more sustainable.
Top of the agenda is the concept of a ‘new collective quantified goal’ (NCQG) for climate finance, which countries have pledged to agree by 2025. What exactly this means, however, is difficult to define.
Certain developed countries, like the USA, UK and Australia, are currently tasked with providing $100 billion a year to help less developed nations to tackle climate change. The figure for the new goal is up for debate, with assessments suggesting trillions of dollars will be needed to adequately prepare the world for higher temperatures.
Aside from the figure itself, a timeline for this funding will also need to be decided. The $100 billion target was only agreed upon two years after the proposed deadline, with negotiators hoping that this won’t happen again.
More countries could also be asked to pay towards the target. The list of nations that contribute was first drawn up in the 1990s, and these developed countries are keen to see other large economies, such as China, added to the list.
Aside from the NCQG, nations will also be discussing the difficult issue of a carbon market. This is the idea that countries which have projects that are absorbing carbon could sell ‘credits’ to other nations to offset emissions.
Previous discussions to lay out how this will work have ended without agreement, but COP29 is set to prioritise negotiations on this topic. Key issues delegates need to decide on include what projects can be used to create carbon credits, and how the system will be managed.
Climate change adaptation is important to allow countries to withstand the effects of rising temperatures. © Neenawat Khenyothaa/ Shutterstock
What else is on the agenda at COP29?
Officials will also meet to review their progress towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 under the Paris Agreement. Emissions need to drop by almost half in the next five years to ensure that the target of limiting global warming to 1.5⁰C remains a possibility.
As well as working to cut emissions, delegates at COP29 will also be looking at how we can adapt to rising temperatures. One major part of this is the Nairobi work programme, which aims to assist countries to understand and account for the impacts of a changing climate.
Developing nations and small island countries are particularly vulnerable, with the programme having a particular emphasis on helping these countries to make the best decisions possible.
Other items on the agenda include food security, sustainable agriculture and water management, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to speak about the issue of energy security.
