In this article, I look at COP29 billed as the global climate change summit will take place later in 2023. Anyone struggling to understand what is COP29 and why it is important will benefit from this episode as these vital questions will be answered.
So, what is COP29, where and when will it be held, who will attend, what does the programme cover & what are its goals and objectives
However, there are vital questions that are begging to be answered. So, here goes:
What is COP29?
COP29 sounds a strangle title to give to such an important globally important meeting.
The ‘COP’ is a global summit on the climate change held by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is the international treaty with an objective to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, primarily by stabilising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The summit is known as the Conference of the Parties, or COP for short.
The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995 and has been held every year since save for 2020 except when it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic & this year’s meeting will be the 29th annual summit, which is why it is call “COP29”.
Additionally, it will include the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29), the 19th meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 19), and the sixth meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 6) that will convene to complete the first enhanced transparency framework and the new collective quantified goal on finance, among other matters.
When will COP 29 be held?
The period for the COP 29 meeting will be from Monday, 11 to Sunday, 24 November 2024.
Where will COP29 be held?
COP29 will be held in the Baku Stadium in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, which is a country having a population of about 10 million in the Caucasus of south-western Asia, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. It is well placed for holding COP29 as the city is a significant centre for cultural tourism in Azerbaijan, while also attracting many international conferences and diplomatic meetings.
What is the COP29 President-Designate?
The newly appointed COP President Mukhtar Babayev, who is an Azerbaijani politician who is, currently, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Republic. Additionally, he has worked in various roles for the Azerbaijan state-owned oil company SOCAR since the 1990s. His appointment raises deep concerns climate activists as it comes on the back of COP28, which was held by another oil state, the United Arab Emirates.
What is the significance of Azerbaijan?
One of Azerbaijan’s priorities during its COP29 Presidency is to lend support to international peace and security, where work is underway with international partners on the unprecedented COP Ceasefire Appeal, a first in the history of climate conferences.
Additionally, an initiative has been put forward to establish a special support fund for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), nations particularly vulnerable to the threat posed by climate change. This initiative recognises that an ever-increasing portion of the world’s population is grappling with both the impacts of climate change and conflicts, as more regions fall into the “particularly vulnerable” category.
And, finally, Azerbaijan’s objective is to ensure the provision of implementable strategies and tangible support for vulnerable peoples through the events organized under its chairmanship.
What is COP29 programme?
If the COP29 programme follows previous COP meetings, it will cover different themes, and each day will have a theme by its own, such as:
Who will attend?
Nearly all of the countries in the world are party to the UNFCCC. There are approximately, 200 world leaders, 30,000 delegates & an expected total of 70,000 participants to attend, take part in discussions, report back on progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement within the Stocktake process, and make further decisions on how to reduce GHG emissions and combat the impact that climate change is already having.
So, to summarise:
We should, all, hope that COP29 can reignite the positivity for dealing with climate change and to make practical and significant steps to ensure that all parties can deliver on the Paris Agreement commitment for “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
In the run-up to the COP29 summit, I will aim to provide other episodes to help in understanding climate change and the actions that you can take, both as an Environmental Manager or Consultant & as an informed individual.
Further information on the issues presented in this article are available from the COP26 & UNFCCC websites.
| Website | WebLink |
| COP29 | COP29 Azerbaijan – United Nations Climate Change Conference |
| UNFCCC | UNFCCC |
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