Results & Key Findings of COP29
The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded with some interesting outcomes. Held in Baku, Azerbaijan, COP29 focused on increasing climate finance, operationalizing carbon markets, and enhancing global cooperation to address climate change.
New Global Climate Finance Target
One of the most notable but also most critized achievements of COP29 was the agreement on a new climate finance goal. Delegates agreed to mobilize $300 billion annually by 2035, a significant increase from the previous target of $100 billion annually by 2020. This new target aims to support countries in their transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient development. However, this left many countries from the Global South disappointed, since their demanded amount of a trillion dollar sum was left short.
Operationalizing Carbon Markets & CO2 Reduction
COP29 marked a milestone in the operationalization of carbon markets. The summit focused on creating effective carbon market mechanisms to facilitate the trading of carbon credits and incentivize emission reductions. This is seen as an important step towards achieving climate goals. Unfortunately, no new steps were agreed upon to further reduce CO2 emissions. This was criticized by many climate protection organizations and countries in the Global South. Despite the urgency of the climate crisis, the conference fell short of expectations to take concrete measures to reduce fossil fuels.
Adaptation and Loss & Damage
The summit highlighted the urgent need for adaptation measures and addressing loss and damage caused by climate change. While progress was made, many countries again expressed disappointment over the lack of concrete plans and financial support for these efforts. The 702 million dollars currently in the loss and damage fund are not enough to tackle the hundreds of billion dollar damages occuring yearly around the world.
National Climate Commitments
COP29 also saw discussions on strengthening nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to ensure that countries are on track to meet their climate goals. The summit emphasized the importance of global cooperation and solidarity in tackling climate change.
Gender Equality
The extension of the Lima Work Programme on Gender for another ten years was approved. This underscores the importance of gender-responsive solutions in climate policy. The conference emphasized the need to involve women and marginalized groups more in climate policy and to strengthen their role in implementing climate protection measures.
Summary
COP29 unfortunately underscored the critical role of climate finance in enabling developing countries to transition to a low-carbon future. The new climate finance target of $300 billion annually by 2035 represents a significant step forward, tripling the amount compared to 2020. Although, it falls short of the trillion-dollar figure demanded by nations from the global south. The operationalization of carbon markets was a more fortunate highlight of the summit. However, the lack of consensus on fossil fuel phaseout and concrete plans for financial support for adaptation and loss and damage efforts left many participating countries disappointed. As a positive development, the extension of the Lima Work Programme showed the significance of gender-responsiveness in climate policy making. Overall, COP29 demonstrated a continued commitment to global climate action, but also unfortunately highlighted the need for much greater ambition and financial support to address the most pressing challenges of climate change.
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Sources:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Summary_Global_Climate_Action_at_COP_29.pdf
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/11/cop29-4-key-takeaways
