Welcome to the twenty-first edition of P2N0 covering our take on the key outcomes from COP 29 (the COP-29 Special Edition).
During the week commencing December 16, 2024, the twenty second edition of P2N0 will be published, covering news items arising during calendar year 2024.
On January 17, 2025, the twenty-third edition of P2N0 will be published, covering key news items arising during the last two weeks of November through January 16, 2024.
Access previous editions of P2N0 by clicking here.
Edition 21: COP-29 Special Edition
THE ARC OF COP-29
Background:
From November 11, 2024, to November 24, 2024, the twenty-ninth Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP-29).
As with COP-28, COP-29 was extended for two days to allow space and time for the Parties to reach agreement on key matters, critically, at COP-29 on Finance and the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance. And as with COP-28, the good folk at COP-29 managed to reach a consensus which at one point seemed unlikely.
The Paris Agreement was agreed by Parties to the UNFCCC, and provides the focus for each Conference of Parties, at COP-29.
While COP-29 was underway, the G20 Rio de Janeiro summit was held in Brazil on November 18 and 19, 2024. Rio de Janeiro Leaders' Declaration, raises three key themes (generally), the second of which relates to sustainable development, energy transitions and climate action. The Declaration is affirmatory rather than revelatory.
Context:
One of the themes that has emerged during 2024 is the tacit acceptance, some may say the express acceptance, that limiting the average global temperature increase to 2OC above pre-industrial times is now the target, rather than limiting the increase to 1.5OC.
COP-29 was bookended by the other two Big Three Climate Conventions:
- COP-16 is the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held between October 21, 2024, and November 1, 2024, in Cali, Columbia; and
- (the other) COP-16 being the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification being held from December 2, 2024, to December 14, 2024 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
During COP-29, achieving progress was not easy. In fact progress was difficult, markedly so on finance.
And while what needs to be done is known (and is now recognized clearly), it needs to be done in a way in which Parties to the Paris Agreement work through matters to achieve consensus. This requires further work, for as we will see, COP29 did not achieve, objectively viewed, that which it was hoped would be achieved.
As will be apparent from this Edition 21 of P2N0, consensus was not reached on a number of key issues. These issues will be picked up again in June 2025 in Bonn, Germany, and at COP-30 to be held in Belém, Brazil from November 10, 2025, to November 21, 20251.
Agenda setting:
COP-29 President: In Letters to Parties and Constituencies (in July 2024, August 2024, September 2024, and November 2024) the President of COP-29, H.E. Mukhtar Babayev set the scene for COP-29 as follows:
- In the July 2024 letter, defining
Two-Pillars of the COP-29 Vision: Enhance Ambition, Enable
Action:
- Enabling Action (Pillar 1):
- Finance and The New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG);
- Article 6 of the Paris Agreement; and
- Loss and Damage;
- Enhancing Ambition (Pillar 2):
- National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Mitigation;
- National Adaptation Plans and Adaptation;
- Biennial Transparency Reports and Transparency; and
- Collaborative Networks and Complementary Action.
- Enabling Action (Pillar 1):
- In the August Letter, emphasizing the importance of the Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) and Transparency, with the first BTRs to be lodged by December 31, 20242;
- In the September Letter, revisiting the July Letter to emphasize the Two Pillars. Also, Annex 1 provides a Summary of the COP-29 Presidency Initiatives and Outcomes; and
- In the November Letter sharing Annexes 1 to 6, covering COP-29 Pledges and Declarations.
As was apparent at the time of the July Letter, the agenda for COP-29 was clear. As with all COPs since 2016, each agenda item has its origin in the Paris Agreement.
European Parliament: Ahead of COP-29, the European Parliament commissioned a study entitled Issues at stake at the COP-29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku.
To view the full article, click here.
Footnotes
1. Decision - / CP.29, Dates and future sessions at paragraph 1 reiterates appreciation for the offer of the Government of Brazil to host the thirtieth session of the Conference of Parties, the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, and the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the Parties serving as the meeting of the Partis to the Paris Agreement from Monday, 10 November 2025, to Friday, 21 November 2025.
2 Prior to the Paris Agreement, Decision 2/CP.17 (at COP-17) required countries to prepare Biennial Update Reports (BURs) every two (2) years, starting from December 2014, which should contain;
(i) updates of national GHG inventories,
(ii) mitigation actions and their effects, and
(iii) finance, technology and capacity-building needs.
The Paris Agreement replaced BURs by establishing an Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), under which every two (2) years each Party is required to submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs).
BTRs should contain:
(i) GHG data and information from national inventory reports (NIRs);
(ii) progress towards NDCs under Article 4;
(iii) climate change impacts under Article 7; and
(iv) financial, technology transfer and capacity-building support needed and received under Articles 9 to 11, which captures a wider range of information than BURs previously required.
The BTR should also allow for this information to be subject to expert (technical) review process (TER process) in respect of data and information submitted for the purposes of Article 13, paragraphs 7 to 9.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
