The annual United Nations climate conference is taking place in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, with thousands of delegates from around the world gathering in the South Caucasus country for two weeks of talks. on how to deal with the climate crisis.
But the re-election of Donald Trump as US president has put a stop to the world summit. Trump has said that he plans to withdraw from the famous Paris Agreement for the second time. It is also likely to reduce the US commitment to reducing carbon emissions which is essential in the transition to zero emissions.
Countries also could not agree on how to finance the global transition to green energy and climate change mitigation plans.
Here’s what you need to know:
When and where will COP29 be held?
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will be held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November.
The decision to hold the summit in a country whose economy is based on fossil fuels has been criticized by climate activists, including Greta Thunberg, who announced the event in a speech from recently as a “green lock conference”.
What does COP mean?
COP is the abbreviation of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which refers to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a multilateral treaty signed adopted in 1992.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change came into force in 1994 and became the basis for landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Climate Agreement (2015), which aimed to bring the world to a standstill by 2100. Limit temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The first COP Conference was held in Berlin, the capital of Germany, in 1995.
On November 10, 2024, on the eve of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, pedestrians walk in front of the COP29 summit complex in Baku (AFP)
Who will attend?
More than 32,000 people have registered for this year’s COP29 conference.
Among them are representatives from all 198 countries that have ratified the Convention.
This is also the first time the Taliban have participated in a United Nations climate conference since they took over Afghanistan in 2021.
Diplomats, journalists, climate scientists, NGOs, activists and indigenous leaders will also attend.
The Biden administration will send a delegation led by John Podesta, the president’s senior adviser for international climate policy, and made up of officials from more than 20 US departments, agencies and agencies. .
The delegation will participate in the negotiations but will not be able to make clear financial commitments until Trump takes office in January.
A protester demonstrates in Gaza calling for climate justice and a ceasefire at the United Nations climate summit in Baku on November 11, 2024 (AP)
What’s on the menu this year?
COP29 is known as the “Financial Conference of the Parties” because it seeks to increase funding to support low-income countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A report supported by the United Nations says that emerging countries except China will need more than $2 trillion in annual investment by 2030 if the world is to prevent global warming.
There have been disagreements over who should pay the bill in the past.
A study commissioned by Britain and Egypt found that $1 trillion should come from rich countries, investors and multilateral development banks.
The remaining funds, about $1.4 trillion, must come from private and public domestic sources, the report said.
In 2009, rich countries pledged to provide $100 billion in annual climate finance to developing countries by 2020, a pledge that was fulfilled two years later than originally expected.
The world’s poorest countries now want a new target of at least $1 trillion a year.
Current donors are urging countries that are still classified as developing countries, such as China, the world’s largest annual emitter of greenhouse gases, and the United Arab Emirates, a major producer fossil fuel, add to the fund.
Agreement on National Decision Contributions (NDCs) by all participating countries will be high on the agenda.
The NDC is the country’s national climate action plan, which sets out the country’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement targets.
The NDC must be updated every five years, with the next update due in early 2025. This year’s summit provides a good opportunity to set the goals of each member country.
What progress has been made since last year’s summit?
A key agreement reached at the COP28 conference in Dubai, UAE, was a “gradual transition away from fossil fuels” as part of a global stock check.
This is an important milestone as it is the first COP text ever to publicly call on countries to move away from fossil fuels.
At present, it is difficult to judge whether significant progress has been made, as the target for energy-related emissions to reach net zero is 2050, while two targets have been set for 2030, giving into tripling global renewable energy capacity and increasing global energy. the effectiveness.
In April this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) set up a tracker to measure targets set at COP28.
Abdullah Malik, head of energy transition strategy at the Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, speaks at the COP28 conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 5, 2023 (Reuters)
Why are the key commitments made at COP28 not part of this year’s agenda?
Officials have not yet released a motive.
However, it can be difficult to focus on fossil fuels as oil and gas make up about half of Azerbaijan’s economy and account for 90% of its exports.
An advocacy group also secretly recorded a statement by Ernur Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister and COP29 chief executive, expressing his willingness to negotiate fossil fuel deals before the summit.
How will Trump’s election affect the summit agenda?
The recent election of Donald Trump as President of the United States will not change the agenda of this year’s summit directly, but it could affect the implementation of all agreements after he takes office in January 2025 .
Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, fulfilling his promise to withdraw from the global agreement. His successor, President Biden, signed an agreement in 2021 to bring the United States back into the agreement.
As the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement will have a significant impact on any goals agreed at COP29.
Last year, the United States produced an average of 12.9 million barrels of crude oil per day, breaking the global record set in 2019.
Trump also often questions whether climate change is real and downplays its effects.
How will climate change affect the world in 2024?
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said its scientists are “almost certain” that 2024 will be the warmest year on record.
The year also saw many severe weather events, with scientists linking storms such as Hurricane Milton, which devastated Florida and killed at least 18 people, to climate change.
climate
Africa’s carbon emissions
Although Africa accounts for about 17% of the world’s population, it accounts for only 3.8% of global carbon emissions (Al Jazeera).
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2024-11-12 03:55:00
