For me, COP29 did not give any major point takeaways that I believe can be a breakthrough decision. Key takeaways of raising the climate finance, international carbon markets, operationalizing Loss and Damage Fund.
The UN annual climate conference COP is repeatedly becoming an annual affair of failed promises and missed targets.
While there are tall claims of achievements being made, the reality is the exact opposite. In one word, COP29 crushed the hopes of a world that was looking for climate action acceleration. The target was to arrest temperature e rise at 1.5 degrees C. Sadly, 2.5 degrees C is the reality now. The COP conferences still refer to the 1.5 degree C targets.
Let us take the biggest claimed achievement of the COP29:
The $1.3 trillion Baku Finance Goal:
To channelize $1.3tn of climate finance to developing countries by 2035. The new yearly goal of $300bn is better than the previous $100bn. While this appears to be appealing numbers and targets, but it is a) not enough and b) 2035 is too long a time for the target.
Let me explain why it is not enough. Let us examine the climate incidents over the last year—the time between COP28 and COP29. The climate incidents world over increased manifold. Floods, hurricanes, landslides, forest fires, heat strokes, global water crisis, the list is endless.
Climate-related causalities are climbing daily. The casualties rose by 200 between 2022 and 2023 from just under 300 in 2022 to above 500 in 2023. In 2024, the numbers have risen significantly.
The developing nations, which are taking the brunt of the economically developed nations’ carbon emissions and the resultant temperature rise, have been vocal about the financial support required to combat climate effects. However, every COP in the recent editions has failed to meet the demand or come anywhere closer to it. The combat actions have to be NOW. The world cannot wait for another decade for financial mobilization and allocation. 2035 is a long period, and we may be at a point where the actions could be futile.
International Carbon Markets:
The long pending clarity on carbon markets has been achieved in COP29, allowing cross-border carbon trading. Undoubtedly, this is one of the positive outcomes of this edition of the COP which concluded in Baku on the 22 of November, 2024. In other words, the rules for buying and selling carbon credits globally have been finalized. For the same, they have decided to launch a centralized trading system.
This will enable companies and countries to look beyond boundaries. More importantly, it will ensure high quality and transparency in carbon markets through which countries and companies can work together to meet their climate goals. It is also expected that the countries can reduce the cost of implementing national climate plans (NDCs) by up to $250 billion per year. This can be utilized or reinvested in more climate initiatives. The next generation of NDCs, due in February, is a make-or-break for the world’s hopes of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.
COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev commented, “It means coal plants decommissioned, wind farms built, and forests planted. It means a new wave of investment in the developing world.”
Operationalization of Loss and Damage fund:
The fund which was established during COP27 in Egypt to provide financial assistance to fight the impacts of climate change got operationalized. It will benefit developing countries, including small island states, least developed countries, and African nations.
In the last COP28 held in the United Arab Emirates, a decision was made to launch the Fund’s operations. And in September of this year, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong was appointed as the Fund’s Executive Director.
Within the framework of COP29, several important agreements related to the Loss and Damage Fund were signed. These include the “Trustee Agreement” and “Secretariat Hosting Agreement” between the Fund’s Board and the World Bank, as well as the “Host Country Agreement” between the Fund’s Board and the host country, the Republic of the Philippines.
To date, the total pledged financial support for the Fund exceeds $730 million. The Loss and Damage Fund will be able to start financing projects beginning in 2025.
Our take
From a bird’s eye view, the COP29 remained as yet another annual event that concluded without any breakthroughs. I only touched upon the top key points. Hope COP30, scheduled for November 2025 will have a relook at these after the next stocktaking on climate action formulates immediate, concrete, and actionable steps.
