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UN’s Preliminary Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Pre-COP29) commenced on Thursday, October 10, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Pre-COP provides a platform for Parties to advance climate negotiations ahead of the 29th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), set to take place in November 2024.
Discussions at the conference, themed “Strengthening Ambitions and Ensuring Action”, are focusing on making progress on key priorities before COP29, including climate finance, specifically the New Collective Quantified Goal, mitigation, adaptation, and supporting vulnerable communities in global climate solutions. The conference will last until October 11.
The opening ceremony was attended by Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-designate; Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President of COP28; Amina Jain Mohammad, UN Deputy Secretary General; Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; and Nabeel Munir, Chairman of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).
In an address delivered on his behalf by COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan emphasised the importance of agreeing an NCQG at COP29 that “meets the needs of the developing, least developed and small island developing states” and represents a “substantial increase” over the prior goal.
President Aliyev noted that reaching this goal would require the collaboration of the international community. “Neither Azerbaijan in its capacity of the COP29 Presidency, nor any other state, can take decisions on behalf of others. Our role is to provide the platform for facilitating negotiations, which we believe we have been fulfilling impartially,” he said.
“As we are entering into the final stage of preparations to the COP29, I call on you to engage constructively and in good faith for the sake of humanity. While states have common but differentiated responsibilities, they should put aside disagreements, stop blaming each other and find common ground. We cannot afford to waste time on defining who is guilty for global warming, or who caused more environmental harm.”
In his own address at the opening ceremony, President-Designate Babayev recognised the progress made, while also calling for participants to act with urgency and use the Pre-COP meeting to build the foundation for a successful outcome at COP29.
“We are building bridges and momentum, but we need much more,” said COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev. “We make progress when we come together, put differences aside, and engage in open and honest dialogue.”
He then added: “The purpose of this session is to prepare for success at COP29. Given the complexity and high stakes involved in the mandated agenda items, we cannot afford to leave too much to be decided at the summit.”
The COP29 President-Designate also set out clear goals for each priority. Speaking about the NCQG, which Azerbaijan has identified as the top negotiating priority for COP29. He noted that “we are seeing some signs of possible convergence on certain elements of the goal. We want to focus on where we can build a solid foundation to help support discussions on other elements.”
He also frankly identified the need to “take seriously the responsibility for identifying a number over a timeframe and come forward with solutions. Qualitative elements of the goal such as transparency and accessibility are also essential to ensuring that the goal is both fair and ambitious.”
The President-Designate also outlined goals for each of the other top negotiating priorities, including concluding work on Article 6 as a much needed priority “crucial for directing financial and technical resources”, turning pledges into signed contributor agreements to the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage, attracting “significantly greater contributions” to all funds, including the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, and responding to the call of the UAE Consensus to transition away from fossil fuels in a just and orderly manner.
The Baku Global Climate Conference COP29 will be a crucial test for both the Paris Agreement and multilateralism, the COP29 President said, adding that the Azerbaijani presidency is committed to an inclusive, transparent, and impartial COP29.
Babayev emphasised that since being elected as the host of COP29, Azerbaijan has organised numerous meetings where the importance of immediate transition from words to actions was emphasised.
“Throughout the year, the COP29 presidency has listened to the problems, concerns, and priorities of everyone. In the first six months after COP28, the economic consequences of extreme weather conditions reached $41 billion. From Typhoon Yagi in Southeast Asia to Hurricane Milton in the USA. Everyone is suffering, and the cost of inaction is growing. We believe there is broad agreement with the COP29 presidency’s vision aimed at increasing ambition and intensifying action. We have also launched the COP29 Action Programme in addition to the official process,” he said.
The COP29 declaration will be made public in the coming days, while Azerbaijan is also working on the next document on nationally determined contributions, Babayev disclosed.
It is planned to complete work on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Babayev said, adding that more efforts need to be made, and proper funding for the loss and damage compensation fund should be ensured.
“We are working on the next document on Azerbaijan’s contributions. We must make progress on all topics. We must also make progress on issues beyond negotiations. The COP29 declaration will be published in the coming days. Pre-COP29 is an important event, so we are raising all the issues that concern us,” he said.
Babayev emphasised that the COP29 presidency has already appointed contact persons at the ministerial level to help us overcome gaps and make progress.
“We need to increase political representation. Authorised ministries should join COP29. Within the framework of COP29, success or failure will be joint, each of us has our own role. We can hold a joint COP29. We can make joint investments and secure the future,” he concluded.
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Jane Mohammed, expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani presidency of COP29 for their contribution to achieving common agreements.
“I want to thank the government of Azerbaijan, the COP29 presidency, as well as COP28 and the troika (of chairs) for the entire difficult journey we have taken to reach common agreements,” she said.
She noted that the world is already on the verge of exceeding global temperature rise above 1.5 degrees, with such horrifying consequences as Hurricane Milton being observed.
According to Mohammed, people still have hope as the global community is taking various measures to combat this.
“COP29 must build on this momentum and turn ambitions and commitments into real economic results. In November, you must agree on a new ambitious climate finance goal that will match the scale of the challenge facing developing countries,” she said.
The world is already on the brink of exceeding global temperature growth above 1.5 degrees, with such terrifying consequences as Hurricane Milton being observed, UN Deputy Secretary-General said.
According to Mohammed, people still have hope as the global community is taking various measures to combat the issue.
“COP29 must build on this momentum and turn ambitions and commitments into real economic results. In November, we must agree on a new ambitious goal in climate financing that will match the scale of the problem facing developing countries,” she said.
The global community must maintain its determination in the fight against climate change, the spirit of compromise and global solidarity, she added.
According to her, the outcomes of COP29 on collective quantitative accounting and climate financing will be an important test of the international community’s commitment to ensuring the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
She called on the global community to work together to achieve a lasting agreement, as “the world desperately needs it.”
“We need something that will give people hope again, and that could be better than solving the climate change problem that the global community is facing. The actions we take in the next 13 months will be crucial. And it’s important for us to be bold in our aspirations while acting urgently,” she said.
The government and people of the UAE wish success to the government and people of Azerbaijan ahead of COP29, COP28 president, Sultan Al-Jaber, said.
Al-Jaber noted that the world community should build on the success achieved in Dubai last year at the current COP29.
He called on countries to unite again, take action and achieve results, adding that after what has been achieved, countries have no right to retreat.
According to the COP28 president, issues of financing should be discussed at the upcoming COP29.
Finance is the most important, he said, noting that finance was the cornerstone of the UAE consensus.
At COP29, the new collective quantitative goal should provide the means to implement the UAE consensus, Al-Jaber said, noting that the volume agreed upon should match the scale of the problem.
He emphasised that these funds should be directed to support the most vulnerable populations to ensure their resilience to climate change and help in combating its consequences.
The activity of the COP Troika of Presidents, aimed at maintaining the momentum achieved at COP28, is a critically important factor for success, Al Jaber said at a panel discussion session.
He noted that through joint efforts, this momentum should transition from COP28 to COP29, and then to COP30. He emphasized that support from the global community is necessary to achieve results.
“We must cooperate to ensure that each NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions – ed.) has the highest possible ambitions, is balanced across all components, and has the potential for implementation,” he said.
Al Jaber stressed that only through the efforts of the international community will it be possible to ensure fairness in climate progress.
Financing is one of the most important topics in terms of the climate agenda, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said.
He noted that COP29 should become a stimulating conference, contributing to the achievement of concrete results: “This will help bring to life the commitments made last year as part of the historic consensus in the UAE, and benefit the real economy. It’s obvious that finance plays a key role in achieving concrete results this year.”
Stiell noted that COP29 should also ensure ambitious results on Article 6.
“It’s time to carry out this work honestly, efficiently, and in good faith. When I say that this COP should be stimulating, I also mean that it should increase the effectiveness of the work that each government must now conduct on the critical policy instruments provided for in the Paris Agreement,” he said.
He emphasised that global cooperation is the only way to achieve results.
“The decisions we have to make will determine how we can ensure the opportunity for all countries to achieve their climate goals,” he said.
Stiell also called on the global community and parties to cooperate, and expressed hope that Pre-COP29 will help achieve results and become the basis for the upcoming session.
“Cooperation has always been humanity’s strongest asset, especially in those moments when we implement solutions taking into account people’s needs,” he concluded.
Nabeel Munir, Chair of the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), has said that the world is currently experiencing the hottest year in history.
He noted that glaciers are melting as a result of the heat. Munir stated that there is a need to take bold steps and build bridges:
“Only in this way can we solve the problems,” he added.
In the lead up to Pre-COP, the COP29 Presidency also convened an informal Heads of Delegation meeting on October 8 in Baku, followed by the formal High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on the NCQG on October 9. Another Heads of Delegation meeting is scheduled for October 12.
The COP29 Azerbaijan Presidency says it will spare no effort to act as a bridge between developed and developing nations and steer the process to a successful outcome at COP29.
“COP29 will be a defining test for both the Paris Agreement and for multilateralism,” stated President-Designate Babayev. “The world is watching, and history will judge us on the outcomes we achieve. Success or failure at COP29 will be collective and each of us has a role to play. We must all offer the best of ourselves.”
