- by Graham Holton
- The Guardian
- Issue #2128
The opening ceremony. Photo: President.az (CC BY 4.0)
The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) was held from 11 to 22 November 2024. Its aim was to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 C°, by building consensus on climate finance, transparency and supporting the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) in their transition from fossil fuels. These annual meetings are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change. Dr Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment called the Global Cooling Pledge “not just an agreement; it’s a lifeline,” with the potential to collectively reduce emissions by nearly 78 billion tonnes by 2050.
COP 29 took place in Azerbaijan, an oil and gas-rich nation. In a keynote speech the nation’s president, Ilham Aliyev, called fossil fuels a “gift from God.” A coalition of NGOs, the Kick the Big Polluters Out (KBPO) group, found that more than 1,700 people who attended COP 29 were linked to fossil fuel interests.
The opening plenary session on 19 November 2024 was stalled by Brazil, South Africa, India, and China, who wanted CBAMs to be on the COP agenda. CBAM is the EU carbon tariff to penalise countries that export emission-intensive commodities but have no carbon pricing policies.
Finance is critical in supporting climate action and energy transition. A UN Advisory group claims that global climate action will need up to US$6.7 trillion a year by 2030, of which: US$1.6 trillion is needed for clean energy; US$250 million for climate adaptation; US$250 million for loss and damage; US$300 million for sustainable agriculture and natural capital; US$40 million for energy transition; and US$100 billion to support climate mitigation. The “G77 and China” group suggested that US$1.3 trillion was needed to offset the impact of climate change.
After two weeks of marathon negotiations, with countries walking out on the last day, the target of US$1.3 trillion per annum by 2035 was not adopted. Instead, the LDCs will receive US$300 billion per annum by 2035. The majority will come from private investments, and levies on fossil fuels and frequent flyers. That sounds like a lot, but is not much compared with the problems it’s meant to address.
US President Joe Biden said the COP 29 agreement was a “historic outcome.” EU climate envoy, Wopke Hoekstra, said it would be remembered as “the start of a new era for climate finance.” The developed nations would be “taking the lead” to provide the US$300 billion, implying that other countries would also have to take up the burden. Mark Howden, director of the ANU’s Institute for Climate, Energy, and Disaster Solutions, said that in comparison to the US$300 billion, fossil fuel subsidies amounted to “US$7 trillion a year.”
Kenya’s Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: “With no real money on the table, and vague and unaccountable promises of funds to be mobilised, they are trying to shirk their climate finance obligations.” Adow added that, “poor countries needed to see clear, grant-based, climate finance” and this “was sorely lacking.” India’s Chandni Raina called the aid package “a paltry sum” and that it was “little more than an optical illusion.” Sierra Leone’s Environment Minister, Jiwoh Abdulai, said the deal showed a “lack of goodwill” by rich countries to stand by the world’s poorest as they confront rising seas and harsher droughts. Nigeria’s Nkiruka Maduekwe called it “an insult.”
Trump’s second presidency loomed over COP 29. Wood Mackenzie Energy Analytics believes that the US will be even “further away from net zero emissions.” Tom Stevenson writes in London Review of Books: “A second Trump term is clearly a disaster for the scant existing international effort to co-ordinate climate response.”
COP 30 will be held in Belem on the Amazon River, so Brazil’s President Lula can show off his Green policies. With the fossil fuel exporting countries deeply embedded in COP discussions, hopes are not high.
