This is a summary of the event “Unpacking COP29” which was hosted by zoom webinar on Thursday November 7.You can Watch a recording of this event on our YouTube Channel. Please note that the opinions expressed in the recording are those of the speakers and do not represent UBC.
See biographies of our speakers on our event page. See other climate-related upcoming events on our website.
Summary by: Sidonie Wittman and edited by the CSRC team.
With COP29 beginning on Monday November 11, 2024, the Climate Solutions Research Collective assembled a panel of UBC specialists to help set the stage for what to expect from this event, including background on how it works, implications for Canadian and global climate goals, and key issues up for debate this year.
After an introduction from the panelists and their initial thoughts on COP29, they responded to questions from the audience.
A key theme explored in the webinar is the growing mechanisms and discourse over climate finance. At COP15 in 2009, it was agreed that developed countries would have a collective goal of mobilizing 100 billion dollars per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries. This goal was not met in 2020, but was reached in 2022 according to the OECD. Now, at COP29, there is a need to define a new finance goal. With that comes multiple considerations and decisions for the parties, including: should this goal be annual or cumulative? Should there be requirements for the ratio between funding for mitigation and adaptation? Also, should there be reconsideration of what countries are considered 'developed' and 'developing', according to the UN language? Additionally, COP29 will see the final planning for the operationalisation of Article 6, which manages carbon markets and includes key topics of debate.
Another discussion centred on energy and energy transitions. COP28 was the first COP to explicitly state the goal of transitioning away from fossil fuels, and included the goal of tripling renewable energy capacity. This also connects to finance, as global investment in renewable energy such as solar is increasing rapidly. COP29 is hoped to create more mechanisms for fostering energy transitions, with an emphasis on a just transition.
The panelists discussed concerns over the efficacy of COP events in general, and this COP29 in particular. Panelists discussed how effective COP events could be if certain countries were unwilling to participate, and how meaningful goals were. Also, COP29 is being hosted in Azerbaijan, a country whose oil and gas exports make up 90% of their exports. Following the panel session, the CEO of COP29 has been found to be willing to make oil and gas deals as part of the COP process. This context is raising concern that this event will not be adequately committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event and asked questions, to Assistant Professor Robert Godin for moderating, and to Professor Carol McAusland, Assistant Professor Tarun M. Khanna, Abul Bashar Rahman, Mark Shakespear, and Professor Simon Donner for being panelists and sharing their expertise.
To view the links mentioned by our speakers during their opening remarks, you can follow along here:
- Robert Godin was our moderator. See more about his research in the Irving K Barber Faculty of Science, Chemistry and his SolarSpec lab. You can see his images of his time at COP26 in the presentation.
- Mark Shakespear summarized a few of the most significant COP milestones from previous events, and how these might impact COP29. Learn more about Mark’s research.
- Mark shared how the recent US Presidential Election may impact the Paris climate agreement.
- Tarun M. Khanna spoke of the state of the energy transition globally, and how that sets up the issues at COP29. Learn more about Tarun’s research.
- Tarun also shared the UNEP Gap report which provides excellent numbers on where we stand in terms of achieving emissions reductions.
- He also shared the International Energy Agency’s tracker for understanding how COP targets are being met in the energy sector.
- Carol McAusland spoke to the Paris Agreement Article 6 on Cooperative Mechanisms, and provided examples that reflect some of the challenges and opportunities in credit trading. See more about Carol’s research.
- Examples from Brazil of credit trading, BLIMPs in India, and the cost of DACS
- Bashar, who participated in both COP27 and COP28, shared how COP has shaped his perspectives on climate action.
- Learn more about how Bashar has been sharing stories of Bangladesh through his documentary Stories of Change
- See how COP delegations have changed over time and what delegation distribution looked at last year’s COP28
- Simon Donner highlighted a few additional topics that are likely to emerge at COP29. See Simon’s research.