Written by Valerie Volcovici
(Reuters) – This month’s UN climate conference – COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan – is being called the “climate finance COP” for its main purpose: agreeing on how much money should go each year to help developing countries meet the costs related to the weather. .
That conversation could be complicated following Tuesday’s re-election of former US President Donald Trump, a climate denier whose campaign vowed to pull the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter and top oil and gas producer out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate change accord for a second time. the time.
COP29 delegates will also look to develop other agreements made at previous conferences.
Here are some of the top agenda items for the Nov. 11-22.
HEAVENLY MONEY
The acronym for this year’s conference is NCQG – which stands for New Collective Quantified Goal.
That refers to a new round of climate funding, which is intended to begin when the current $100 billion pledge expires at the end of this year.
Rich countries have only met that annual goal since 2020, leading to growing distrust among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.
As COP29 aims to set a higher target for the coming years, rich countries insist that the money cannot come entirely from their budgets.
Instead, they discuss a much more ambitious effort that could involve reforming the world’s multilateral lending system in ways that reduce climate-related financial risks and encourage more private capital.
It is not clear how much of the annual target will be given to rich countries. Another thing that has not been resolved is that rapidly developing countries such as China or the oil regions of the Middle East Gulf should also contribute, which is a position promoted by the United States and the European Union.
By changing the international banking system, countries hope to increase the annual amount of climate finance. UN agencies estimate billions of dollars are needed every year, but officials hosting COP29 in Azerbaijan said the figure in the “hundreds of billions” has a realistic chance of being approved by consensus.
FOSSIL FUEL TRANSITION
Last year’s COP28 conference in Dubai concluded with countries agreeing for the first time on “flexibility in removing fossil fuels from energy systems.”
However, since then, both fuel consumption and exports have continued to rise worldwide, while new areas have been approved for oil and gas production in countries such as Azerbaijan, the United States, Namibia, and Guyana.
With countries and companies unclear on their decision to phase out coal, oil and gas, negotiators say COP29 is unlikely to deliver timelines or firm language on fossil fuels, although some countries may demand a freeze on new coal plant approvals.
Countries will also discuss progress on their pledge to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency, as a way to reduce demand for fossil fuels.
CARBON MARKET RULES
Governments are eager to resolve the rules for trading carbon credits earned through forest conservation and other natural carbon sinks.
Although these credits are meant to be issued to nations as a voluntary expenditure on their country’s products, they can also be sold on the open market. Business leaders want COP29 to set rules to ensure transparency and environmental integrity in projects included in the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM).
Still to be decided are key issues including how PACM’s governing body will set standards, if credits must be assessed before being sold, and when and if credits can be withdrawn.
EXTRAORDINARY INCREASE
Azerbaijan is hoping that countries will submit their first progress reports on climate action during the summit before the December 31 deadline, but it is unclear whether countries will do so.
The so-called Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) are intended to describe the country’s progress in meeting its climate goals – and how much more needs to be done to set new goals in February. As it is, national pledges to reduce emissions still fall far short of what is needed, the UN said last week.
The BTRs will also provide insight into how much money is currently needed in developing countries, both to transition their economies away from fossil fuels and to adapt to a warming climate.
NORMALITY IN FOCUS
Countries last year committed to a set of guidelines for national programs to help people adapt to climate disturbances such as hot days, rising seas or dry farming areas.
But the adaptation framework lacks details, such as measurable targets for measuring progress or strategies for linking climate finance projects.
Countries hope to set specific adaptation goals during COP29.
COST OF LOSS AND DAMAGES
In the two years since the COP27 conference in Egypt agreed to help poor countries with the costs of climate-driven disasters such as severe floods, hurricanes or drought, approximately 660 million dollars have been mobilized through the Fund For Responding To Loss and Damage, which was recently created. in the Philippines.
Climate-vulnerable countries will ask rich countries to contribute more to the fund.
