The recently concluded COP29 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, marked a significant step in global climate action. Here are the key highlights of the conference.
COP, which stands for Conference of Parties, is a series of formal meetings where governments assess global efforts to advance the Paris Agreement and the Convention and limit global warming to 1.5°C, as informed by the latest science.
At COPs, world leaders come together 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.
COP29: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Theme: Investing in a livable planet for all
The UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, concluded on 24 November with an agreement calling on developed countries to deliver $300 billion per year to developing countries by 2035 to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change.
Enhanced Climate Finance:
- COP29 emphasized the urgent need for scaled-up climate finance. A commitment to securing new financing goals beyond the $100 billion annual pledge was central. Proposals included mechanisms to mobilize resources for loss and damage funds to support vulnerable nations.
- New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG): It aims to triple climate finance for developing countries to USD 300 billion per year by 2035 from the previous goal of USD 100, with developed countries taking the lead.
Carbon Markets Agreement:
- COP29 reached a landmark agreement to finalise the mechanisms for carbon markets, including country-to-country trading (Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement) and a centralised carbon market under the United Nations (UN) (Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement).
Declaration on Reducing Methane:
- Over 30 countries, including the US, Germany, UK, and UAE, endorsed the COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste. India is not a signatory.
- The declaration targets the waste sector’s methane emissions, contributing to 20% of global methane emissions. It focuses on five priority areas: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), regulation, data, finance, and partnerships.
- Countries are encouraged to include sectoral targets for reducing methane emissions from organic waste in their NDCs.
- This builds on the Global Methane Pledge (India is not a signatory) to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030, addressing methane from agriculture, waste, and fossil fuels.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs):
- Member states were urged to submit revised and ambitious NDCs by 2025. These plans focused on economy-wide emissions reduction targets and transitioning from fossil fuels, aligning with the global aim to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Nations agreed to prioritize renewable energy and energy efficiency while adopting sector-specific measures to reduce emissions from transportation, agriculture, and heavy industries.
Global Stocktake:
- The outcomes of the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement were reviewed, highlighting progress and gaps in achieving collective climate goals.
Nature-Based Solutions:
- Initiatives to combat deforestation, restore degraded lands, and enhance biodiversity protection gained significant support. Programs to leverage carbon sinks and natural systems as part of climate mitigation were promoted.
Addressing Loss and Damage:
- Progress was made in operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, with discussions on its governance, funding mechanisms, and equitable distribution to impacted communities.
Private Sector Engagement:
- The conference witnessed increased commitments from businesses and financial institutions to adopt green technologies, divest from fossil fuels, and align operations with climate goals.
Capacity Building and Technology Transfer:
- Focus was placed on empowering developing countries with technological solutions and knowledge-sharing to advance their climate resilience and adaptation measures.
Inclusion and Equity:
- COP29 emphasized the participation of indigenous communities, youth, and women in climate decision-making processes, ensuring diverse perspectives in policy formulation.
- COP29 adopted the Baku Workplan and renewed the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) mandate under the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP).
Gender and Climate Change:
- A decision was made to extend the Lima Work Programme on Gender (LWPG) for another 10 years, reaffirming gender equality in climate action and the need for a new gender action plan to be adopted at COP30 (Belém, Brazil).
- Established in 2014, the LWPG aims to advance gender balance and integrate gender considerations to ensure gender-responsive climate policy and action under the Convention and the Paris Agreement.
Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers: The COP29 Presidency in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launches the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers.
India at COP29
India’s participation in the recently concluded COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, focused on key priorities including financing, carbon market mechanisms, and technological collaborations.
- Dubbed the “Finance COP,” the conference placed a strong emphasis on climate finance, with India reiterating its demand for $1 trillion in funding to meet its climate goals and advocating for annual financial support of a similar scale for developing countries to achieve their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
- India rejected the rushed approval of the new finance goal for 2026-2035, arguing that due process had not been followed, and sought “much higher ambition” from rich nations.
- India also supported discussions on operationalizing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which governs international carbon markets.
- This mechanism enables countries to meet their emission reduction targets through carbon credit trading, an area India views as critical to enhancing its decarbonization efforts.
- The country emphasized the need for clear processes for authorizing and managing these credits to bolster global cooperation on emissions reduction.
For India, the conference outcomes hold significance in terms of mobilizing international finance, advancing carbon trading frameworks, and reinforcing the principle of equity in climate action.
- These measures align with India’s domestic initiatives, such as promoting renewable energy, strengthening carbon markets, and achieving its long-term net-zero goals.
- This focus on equitable financing and sustainable technologies is pivotal for countering challenges posed by its large and growing energy demands while maintaining its commitment to inclusive development and global climate targets.
COP28: Dubai, UAE
Theme: Climate Action can’t wait
- Global stocktake: COP 28 concluded with a decision on the outcome of the first ‘global stocktake’ of the world’s efforts to address climate change under the Paris Agreement.
- The ‘global stocktake’ is considered the central outcome of COP 28 – as it contains every element that was under negotiation and can now be used by countries to develop stronger climate action plans due by February 2025.
- Loss and Damage fund: A historic agreement on the operationalization of funding arrangements for addressing loss and damage, including a new dedicated fund under the UNFCCC was adopted on the first day of the conference.
- This agreement builds on the landmark decision a year earlier at COP 27 where nations agreed to set up a fund to support vulnerable countries and communities already experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change.
- Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA): Parties agreed on targets for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and its framework, which identify where the world needs to get to to be resilient to the impacts of a changing climate and to assess countries’ efforts.
- Triple planetary crisis: Governments were called on to consider ecosystems, biodiversity and carbon stores, such as forests, when developing their stronger national climate action plans (known as nationally determined contributions), which are due by early 2025.
COP27: Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
Theme: Delivering for people and the planet
- Loss and Damage Fund:
- The agreement to create the fund was historic, marking the first time such a mechanism was officially established under the UNFCCC framework.
- The fund aims to address economic and non-economic losses in vulnerable nations, covering damages from disasters like floods, droughts, and hurricanes.
- Details about the fund’s structure, contributors, and beneficiaries are to be worked out in subsequent meetings.
- Climate Finance: The summit emphasized the need for developed countries to fulfil their $100 billion per year commitment to support developing nations in mitigation and adaptation efforts, a goal that remains unmet.
- Mitigation Goals:
- Countries reaffirmed their commitment to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
- There was a push for updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reflect stronger emission reduction targets.
- Adaptation and Resilience: The Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda was introduced, aiming to improve the resilience of 4 billion people living in the most climate-vulnerable regions by 2030.
- Energy Transition: While progress on phasing out fossil fuels was limited, there was an increased focus on scaling up renewable energy and supporting just transitions in energy systems.
Conclusion
The COP29 summit underlined the urgency of collective global action and set the stage for more robust and inclusive climate policies leading up to COP30.
Rich nations pledged to contribute at least $300 billion annually to the global fight against climate change as UN climate talks came to a contentious end early Sunday morning in Baku.
Developing nations who had sought over $1 trillion in assistance called the agreement “insulting” and argued it did not give them the vital resources they required to truly address the complexities of the climate crisis.
Previous Year Questions
Q. Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (Mains 2021)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. Where will COP30 be held?
Ans: UN confirms Belém to host the COP 30 climate conference.
Q. What is the COP?
Ans: The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention. All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements.
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- Climate change and health
- Climate Financing
- Climate targets: India’s revised targets
-Article by Swathi Satish
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