COP29: What can we expect from this year’s conference?

From the 11^th to the 22^nd of November, Azerbaijan will host the 29^th Conference of the Parties, an annual meeting where all United Nations member states convene to discuss solutions to climate change and global warming.  

Last year, we saw some important strides being made. However, to reach the targets set out by the Paris Agreement, this year’s COP must focus on actionable steps and an inclusive climate finance plan to support global decarbonisation.

What happened at COP28 and what is expected of this year’s conference?  

Last year, COP28 concluded with an agreement to move away from fossil fuels, signalling the “beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era”. Other main achievements included:  

• Mobilising the Loss and Damage fund, with an initial commitment of $450M, to help vulnerable countries impacted by climate change. 

• Tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. 

• Commitments to include emissions from agriculture and farming in national climate action plans. 

• Conducted the first ever global stocktake to review the progress made by member states towards the 2015 targets.  

Although some progress was made, COP28 failed to set up the financial structures necessary to fully implement the Paris Agreement. As a result, there are high expectations for COP29 to define a roadmap for this transition and establish a New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) after 2025 to support developing countries with their climate actions. 

The two pillars of COP29: enhance ambition, enable action

This year’s conference will focus on two mutually reinforcing parallel pillars that will enable global action and cooperation, with climate finance taking centre stage.  

Enhance ambition 

The first pillar involves setting clear, actionable goals to ensure we stay within 1.5˚C and leave no one behind. This will be achieved via individual strategies like Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as broader international collaboration.  

Enable action 

The second pillar will look at how we turn ambition into action through implementation and support on a regional, national and global level. Specifically, it will focus on the critical role of finance and the need to set an ambitious NCQG, helping developing countries decarbonise by bridging the fiscal gap. 

COP29 agenda and thematic days

Based on the COP29 Presidency Action Agenda Letter, here is an overview of the key themes for each day of the two-week conference.

• 11 November: COP29 opening 
• 12 to 13 November: World Leaders Climate Action Summit 
• 14 November: Finance, Investment and Trade 
• 15 November: Energy/Peace, Relief and Recovery 
• 16 November: Science, Technology and Innovation/Digitalization 
• 17 November: Rest day (no thematic programming) 
• 18 November: Human Development/Children and Youth/Health/Education 
• 19 November: Food, Water and Agriculture 
• 20 November: Urbanisation/Transport/Tourism 
• 21 November: Gender Equality/ Indigenous Peoples/ Nature and Biodiversity/Oceans and Coastal Zone 
• 22 November: Final negotiations