COP29 Commences With UN Alarm: Paris Agreement Goals “Are In Great Peril”

COP29 Commence With Global Issue: The 29th Conference of the Parties, (COP29), began in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday perhaps with more headwinds than ever before.

As talks opened, the United Nations warned that Paris climate agreement’s goals “are in great peril” and 2024 is on track to break new temperature records. The period from 2015 to 2024 will also be the warmest decade ever recorded, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report.

The re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. President has already cast a shadow over the meet where the main focus is on agreeing on climate financing — who pays, how much is needed, and how the funds would be used to address climate adaptation, mitigation and loss/damages.

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New WMO data showed that current global warming is about 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than the average of the previous 10 years, compared to 1.2 degrees Celsius a year ago, and the current year is hotter by 1.54 degrees Celsius, compared to 1.45 degrees Celsius in 2023.

While Mr. Trump, who is president-elect of the world’s biggest economy, has repeatedly cast doubts on climate change, wars in West Asia and Ukraine, among other crises, have strained climate diplomacy. These could impact the chances of increasing climate finance and agreeing on rules around it, which is one of the primary goals of COP29, which is being labelled “finance COP”. He has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which he did during his first term, but the move was later reversed by President Joseph Biden.

The Paris Agreement, for the first time, had global leaders commit to limiting global warming to a specific number -- under 2 degrees Celsius, or better still, to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial times.

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In a thinly veiled reference to the U.S., Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of U.N. Climate Change, appealed to the “largest and wealthiest” nations that such financing is in their “self-interest”. “Let us dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every nation, including the largest and wealthiest,” Mr. Stiell said.

Many hope this COP will see agreement on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance or NCQG. COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev, who is the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, said it is a “top priority”.

The talks aim to increase the current $100 billion-a-year climate target to help developing nations address worsening climate impacts and reduce dependency on fossil fuels. The current target is insufficient compared to the over trillion dollars promised to the developing countries, and the first $100 billion was delayed by years.

The rich, developed nations are historically the biggest greenhouse gas polluters responsible for much of today’s global warming. But getting them to increase their finance commitments has been a challenge with protectionism, tit-for-tat trade wars and inflation on the rise.

Politically too, COP29 was being viewed as lacklustre even before it began. Many top leaders have skipped it, including the U.S. and Chinese Presidents, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders of France, Germany, and Australia. Even leaders of small island nations, who are a powerful voice at this stage because of the threat of rising sea levels they face, have given the summit a miss.

Azerbaijan is the second petrostate to host the all-important climate summit in as many years; fossil fuels constitute 90% of its exports and the summit’s chief executive was seen discussing investment opportunities in its petroleum industry ahead.

The World Health Organisation stated ahead of the summit, “Restrict fossil fuel industry interactions within national policy spaces and international fora such as the COP.” Climate activist Greta Thunberg called it “extreme hypocrisy”.

Mr. Babayev, who has worked for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan as vice-president of ecology said, “People have doubted us. Let us prove them wrong… Azerbaijan can build the bridge but all need to start running.”

COP29 is being held in the Azerbaijan capital from November 11 to 22, 2024.

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