This year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) kicks off today, November 11th in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a focus on climate finance. Developing nations and generally, the global south are looking forward to the outcome of negotiations to help in climate action efforts as they are most affected by the effects of climate change.
Parties will negotiate a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on the agenda. This more ambitious, transparent, and predictable climate finance target better addresses the needs of developing countries for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.
Climate finance has been contentious in the past and these issues, hopefully, will be addressed in this year’s conference, outlining who contributes, and what exactly the finance covers.
As the final COP before the February 2025 deadline to update nationally determined contributions (NDCs), COP29 in Baku is a crucial moment for ramping up ambition in national climate commitments.
Building on COP28’s global stocktake and the historic decision to move away from fossil fuels, nations will aim to advance adaptation efforts by assessing progress on National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) with a focus on actionable support. Negotiators will also revisit Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to strengthen rules for global emissions trading.
The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), will be a central focus at COP29, building on the $100 billion target developed countries announced in 2009. Discussions are expected to provide a new financial framework and support developing countries by plugging climate finance gaps, giving them financial backing to implement climate mitigation and adaptation actions and address loss and damage.
The effects of climate change are felt globally from extreme heatwaves across Southern Europe, North America, and Asia, triggering devastating wildfires in Greece, Canada, and Hawaii to severe floods causing catastrophic damage in Libya, Nigeria, Kenya, China, and Brazil, while drought gripped the Horn of Africa, worsening food insecurity. Intensified tropical storms, like Hurricane Otis in Mexico highlighted the escalating impacts globally.
Consequently, there is a growing recognition that investing in adaptation now will save lives and minimize costs in the future. To ensure this critical investment, developing, strengthening, and implementing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) is essential for countries aiming to enhance climate resilience.
At COP29, nations will review their progress in creating and executing NAPs and provide recommendations to speed up adaptation actions, reduce vulnerabilities, and bolster resilience. Since the last assessment in 2018, developing countries have advanced in adaptation planning and implementation, making it important to identify successful strategies and pinpoint areas needing further support.
A successful COP29 outcome on adaptation will include a balanced review of NAP achievements, stressing the need to shift from planning to implementation, supported by sufficient financial and capacity resources. This process will also emphasize gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in adaptation efforts and the alignment of local and national goals.
Additionally, COP29 in Baku presents an opportunity to advance the UAE-Belém work program, which seeks to develop indicators for tracking progress on the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. Countries, along with expert groups, will continue negotiating these indicators to reach a finalized set by COP30 in Brazil.
