The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP), will take place in Azerbaijan’s capital from 11 to 22 November. A few months ahead of the global stocktake, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Brussels organised a conference in the European capital to present the progress made since COP28 and the goals COP29 hopes to achieve.
1. The road to COP29
The annual COP event brings together all the signatory countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as NGOs, policymakers, experts and stakeholders, to discuss the state of the climate and decide on global resolutions on how to address the changing of out planet. The Paris Agreement, decided at COP21, in 2015, is possibly the most important decision yet to be made at a Conference of the Parties, according to which signatory countries commit “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
While in 2015 keeping global warming below 1.5°C seemed tangible, last year’s COP28 was the first global stocktake to affirm that we are not on track to meeting this target and intensified, urgent efforts are needed to achieve it. A phasing out of specifically “fossil fuels” was also agreed on for the first time, instead of referring to singular oil, gas or coal use.
Today we reaffirm our collective commitment to addressing the most pressing challenge of our time, which is climate change.
H.E. Vaqif Sadıqov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Benelux and the EU
Following COP28, the Parties committed to developing comprehensive National Determined Contributions (NDCs) outlining their strategies for decarbonisation, to be submitted by February 2025. Moreover, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and, for the first time ever, Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) have to be submitted by the end of the year and preferably by COP29.
2. Enhancing ambition and enabling action
COP29 is a milestone in our collective journey for a more sustainable future.
Georges van Montfort, Deputy Director of the UN/UNDP Office in Brussels
Following up on the steps taken last year, this year’s Conference, presided by Azerbaijan, is based on two pillars: enhancing the Parties’ ambition for higher aiming NDCs, NAPs and BRTs and enabling action by agreeing on a new climate finance goal.
Working with the Parties on increasing the ambitions of their reports and ensuring they meet their respective deadlines, the Azerbaijan Presidency has identified two obstacles – lack of capacity and lack of confidence. A lot of countries do not have enough resources, material or human, to develop the technically challenging and complex reports. On the other hand, they are reluctant to submit “imperfect” ones, explained Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Lead Negotiator for COP29.
To address these issues, COP29 has begun a series of workshops, starting in Azerbaijan in May, to support Parties in building capacity to meet their obligations. Since then, further workshops as well as online sessions have taken place around the world to ensure the widest possible participation.
We need a fair and ambitious new Collective Quantified Goal that is adequate to the urgency and scale of the problem.
Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Lead Negotiator for COP29
The second negotiating priority for COP29, enabling action, implies the establishing of a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) by getting the Parties to agree on a common quantum and contributor base. However, “any amount or figure that we will be agreeing on should also take into account the needs and priorities of the developing country Parties”, Rafiyev stressed.
Since last year the agri-food industry was included for the first time as a main topic of discussion at COP28, day 9 of this year’s conference will be dedicated to “Food, Agriculture and Water”. “Agri-food systems as we know them today are not fulfilling their role. They are inefficient and they are not inclusive enough. And above all, from the perspective of COP, they’re not sustainable”, said Raschad Al-Khafaji, Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium.
To address this, FAO has “adopted a linked action plan and strategic framework to ensure that while we are thriving for better production, to feed the growing world population, and better nutrition, we also respect the climate”, Al-Khafaji explained.
Among the other initiatives that the COP29 Presidency aims to achieve is a “COP Truce”. Inspired by the “Olympic Truce”, observing a global ceasefire for the one-month period of the event should significantly reduce global emissions by 5-6%, Rafiyev said.
In its part, to contribute to global decarbonisation, Azerbaijan has made green growth the cornerstone of its national development strategy by 2050, H.E. Vaqif Sadıqov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Benelux and the EU said at the conference in Brussels. Moreover, with numerous green energy projects across its territory and a focus on smart cities, the country has become a regional leader in green energy transition, with the goal of meeting 30% of its overall energy needs through renewable sources by 2030.
