Faith sector delegates to COP29 walk through the venue of the United Nations climate summit taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 11-22 November 2024. Here pictured: Romario Dohmann, Eugenio Albrecht, Carine Josiéle Wendland, Elena Cedillo. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
The first week of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, is over. As the gathering heads into the second week, here are some points worth noting:
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- Week 1 of COP is typically meant to finalize as much as possible in negotiations so that Week 2 can focus on the most complicated issues. As the event enters Week 2, big issues are still in discussion. Debbie Hillier, UNFCCC policy lead at Mercy Corps, shared that negotiators have mainly been discussing technicalities of the cover agreement document such as access, transparency, and debt. “This should have been happening three, four days ago. The pace is frustratingly slow.”[1]
- The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) has announced the selection of Ibrahima Cheikh Diong as its first Executive Director. The FRLD was first agreed to in 2022to help countries respond to the effects of climate change. The naming of a leader will allow the fund to start receiving money. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong said: “I am honored to take on this role at such a pivotal time when the climate crisis is proving to be an existential threat to lives and livelihoods, particularly of the most vulnerable communities in developing countries….”[2]
A woman holds a sign reading ‘Pay up’, as people from a range of civil society groups gather for a ‘Global Day of Action’ inside one of the plenary halls at the United Nations climate summit COP29 taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 11-22 November 2024. Traditionally featuring a climate march through the host city or an outdoor section of the COP venue, the Global Day of Action this year takes place indoors inside one of the plenary halls followed by a ‘human chain’ sit-in outside plenary. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
- World Leaders continue to highlight the urgency of protecting people from more extreme weather and rising seas, while being reluctant to pay to make that protection possible. The Adaptation Fund, has a $300 million annual goal, but has only secured around $61 million from donor countries this week. Least developed countries, or LDCs, and small island developing states, or SIDS, are particularly concerned about adaptation funding.[3]
- The Azerbaijani presidency claimed an early win at the start of COP29, ushering in an agreement on Article 6, which will govern carbon markets. While this can be seen as a success in that it will set standards for a centralized carbon trading market under the U.N. many activists say that the rules are not stringent enough, allowing for a dangerously unregulated market that could cause more havoc than no market at all. Many climate justice groups said that the market will only benefit big polluters and rich countries, while leaving out community voices and adequate protections to make sure that the trading is transparent and credible.[4]
- Perhaps surprisingly, many world leaders — including those from the United States — don’t seem to be too concerned about how the U.S. election outcome will impact climate actions. During a press briefing John Podesta, senior adviser to the U.S. president on international climate policy, said that “While the United States federal government under Donald Trump may put climate action on the back burner, work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States with commitment and passion and belief.” This however doesn’t mean that folks are unaware of the impacts. At a press event over the weekend however, U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island (D) and Ed Markey of Massachusetts (D), didn’t pretend that a Trump administration would address climate change. Whitehouse stated that, “…Effective January, the United States government will be defecting from a position of responsibility,” [5]
Mr. Simon Stiell of Grenada, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) addresses COP29 at a joint press conference with the COP29 Presidency. Photo: UN Climate Change – Kiara Worth
Many are entering Week Two of COP29 feeling the frustration of an incredibly slow process but the negotiators have been given marching orders from Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate chief. Stiell told the gathering that “Ministers…need to roll up their sleeves and dive into the hardest issues. Bluffing, brinksmanship and premeditated playbooks are burning up precious time. So let’s cut the theatrics and get down to the real business this week.” He went on to remind the wealthier nations that it was in all of our best interest to help those who are suffering the most from extreme weather impacts but are the smallest contributors to global warming. “Climate finance is not charity,” he said. “It is 100% in every nation’s interest to protect their economies and people from rampant climate impacts.”[6]
[1] https://www.devex.com/news/cop29-special-edition-halfway-through-the-summit-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-108778
[2] https://unfccc.int/news/ibrahima-cheikh-diong-selected-as-inaugural-executive-director-of-the-fund-for-responding-to-loss
[3] https://www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/16/adaptation-fund-head-laments-puzzling-lack-funding-pledges-cop29/
[4] https://www.devex.com/news/cop29-special-edition-halfway-through-the-summit-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-108778
[5] https://www.devex.com/news/cop29-special-edition-halfway-through-the-summit-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-108778
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/18/cop29-delegates-told-to-cut-the-theatrics-and-tackle-climate-crisis