The 29th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29) on climate change began before dawn (Spanish) on Monday, November 11. And a few hours had passed when the alarm sounded: the opening plenary session of the summit, during which the agenda for the next two weeks was being approved, He suffered one breakage after another.
The principal investigator of Carbon file, Simon Evans alerted about this on social networks. The draft agenda conference contained climate negotiations, according to the reference specialist publication, contained “some controversial elements”.
Among the reasons for this unexpected shutdown, there is the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)a sort of CO₂ tax. Which is not new for the COP, but which is not well received. According to Evans, the attempt to put it on the agenda last year failed. Apparently, this year is not looking more optimistic.
This “fight for the agenda”, as Evans himself called it on the social network BlueSky, even delayed the afternoon plenary session by two hours. This only portends a somewhat eventful summit.
From Biden to Trump
He John Podesta, US special climate envoywanted to devote a few minutes of the first day of the summit to the elephant in the room: Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election on November 5. Podesta acknowledged that the election result is “disappointing” for those who defend the environment.
One of the journalists present at Podesta’s press conference asked him about the role of the United States in this COP29 following the presidential elections. The special envoy made it clear that he was “working very hard with many countries.” and will continue to “encourage people to work diligently.”
Their remaining time as a key voice at the climate summit, Podesta assured, will be used to “advance” the planet’s climate ambitions. Above all, he says, in “triple renewable energy and increase battery capacity.
Furthermore, the American delegate wanted to emphasize how “Trump could put climate work on the back burnerBut that doesn’t mean it’s going to disappear.” And, Podesta said, the transition is already unstoppable. He also acknowledged that his and his delegation’s job this year would be to promote agreements around Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Article 6
Something that was brought up again and again during the opening day of COP29 was the need to push item 6. It is one of the cornerstones of the Paris Agreement, which aims to get countries to work together to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Article 6 is essential to mark nationally determined contributions. That’s to say, the roadmaps of each country to decarbonize.
Additionally, it establishes an important mechanism for providing climate finance to developing countries and a carbon market that, if launched, could continue to operate even if the United States withdraws support for the Paris Agreement.
The Chinese role
When asked about the BBC on the role that China will assume – or should assume – after Trump’s victory and disappearance of the United States as a key player in the fight against climate, Podesta wanted to reach out: “Their role is also very important.”
“As the country with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, it has an obligation to align its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with the goal of not exceeding 1.5°C of warming compared to pre-industrial times,” he said.
As Ricardo Martínez, principal researcher of the Global Cities program of the Center for International Affairs of Barcelona (CIDOB), assures ENCLAVE SDG, The role assumed by the Asian giant is vital for the years to come. The same thing is happening with the European Union. It is now up to them to promote climate ambition.
A beached whale
The climate future that could come from the hand (and influence) of the United States has been depicted by an installation by Captain Boomer Belgian art collective. With a whale stranded in Bakuthese artists and activists wanted to represent the destruction of nature.
Artists and environmentalists are gathering around the world for the COP, notably in Baku during COP29.
Belgian art collective Captain Boomer has created a hyper-realistic installation of a dead whale to highlight environmental destruction. #COP29 #Baku #EcoArt #CaptainBoomer pic.twitter.com/PMYTqs9MDU– Zahra Badalbayli (@ZahraBadalbayli) November 11, 2024
This installation set the protest and creative tone for a day of climate summit marked by fears that there would be no safe space for peaceful demonstrations. And it is precisely for this reason that several civil society groups decided to organize a small demonstration at COP29.
It is worth recalling that Azerbaijan has been the target of criticism, including from Amnesty International and other similar organizations, due to its human rights record. And also for his war against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and its supply of oil to Israel via a pipeline through Turkey.
Azerbaijan’s hypocrisy
As Azerbaijan attempts to lead climate negotiations at this COP, Tutor alert that The national oil company (Socar) has concluded deals worth $8 billioni.e. three times more than the amount of contracts for the previous 12 months. According to Global Witness, the company has secured at least 25 new contracts with foreign companies.
This happened, according to the NGO, during a key year in which the country tries to promote the gradual reduction of fossil fuels around the world. Patrick Galey, senior researcher at Global Witness, assures that once again, “We have a polluting company that is taking advantage of the climate summit to win contracts” it will only continue to pollute.
COP29, ditch, “is co-opted by Socar”. And that “vulnerable nations depend on it to ensure a future in which to survive.” Galey is blunt about this: “The goal of Azerbaijan’s national oil company is to produce huge quantities of gas and oil in the coming decades, which is diametrically opposed to the goal of the EU’s climate negotiations. UN.”
Recall that the country’s president, Ilyan Aliyev, was a Socar executive and had already declared at the beginning of the year that the climate summit would not prevent Azerbaijan from continuing to exploit fossil fuels. And, he assured, the reserves available to Azerbaijan are “a gift from the gods”.
Pay for the adaptation
Financing is one of the priorities of the climate negotiations. We can even say that it is the main point of the agenda of this COP29. Right now, it’s safe to say there’s a real gap between the amount of money all countries need to mitigate and adapt to climate change and what’s on the table.
Vulnerable countries are, as always, the most affected. One of the main topics of discussion during this climate summit in Baku will therefore be financing.
Developing countries need, according to a report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), at least $1 billion per day to address extreme weather impacts Today. And so far, the Earth has only warmed 1.3°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures.
However, warns the UN, these countries only receive 75 million dollars per day. The most worrying thing is that, despite the increase in adaptation funds – they went from 22 billion in 2021 to 28 billion in 2022 -, the impacts of the climate emergency are greater and more frequent.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres explains, “Climate catastrophe is the new reality and we are not up to the task. The climate crisis is already here. We cannot postpone protection, we must adapt NOW”.
