The United Nations Climate Change Conference concluded in Baku, with significant agreements reached in its final days regarding climate change, water resources, emissions, and financing.
The COP29 Presidency launched the Declaration on Reducing Methane Emissions from Organic Waste, supported by over 30 countries. The signatories collectively account for 47 percent of global methane emissions from organic waste, including Japan, Russia, Germany, the USA, Turkey, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Israel, and Serbia. By signing the declaration, countries committed to setting sectoral targets to reduce these emissions in their future nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Since organic waste is the third-largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions, after agriculture and fossil fuels, this decision is pivotal for achieving the goals of the Global Methane Pledge introduced at COP26, aiming for a reduction of at least 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030.
On the same day, in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Presidency launched the Harmoniya Climate Initiative for farmers in Baku. This initiative recognizes the significant role farmers play in climate action. It plans to develop an online portal and guidelines for farmers and agricultural organizations to make support more accessible. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition under UNEP, announced a new partnership to develop a roadmap for reducing methane emissions in the country’s agricultural sector.
More:
- Energy Initiatives at COP29 – What Can We Expect?
- COP29: New Initiatives and Financing for Combating Climate Change and Achieving Peace
- COP29: Climate Financing Set as a Priority
During the thematic day on urbanization, transport, and tourism, two initiatives were introduced. The COP29 MAP Declaration on Multisectoral Actions for Resilient and Healthy Cities aims to enhance urban infrastructure, integrate climate action into city planning, and strengthen collaboration from local to global levels. It emphasizes sustainable urban transport, green building, and nature-based solutions. The second initiative, the COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism, seeks to encourage creative thinking about transforming tourism into a climate-resilient, low-carbon sector.
On the penultimate day of the conference, the Presidency introduced the COP29 Water for Climate Action Declaration, supported by nearly 50 countries. This declaration commits signatories to adopt integrated approaches to tackle the causes of water-related climate issues and to collaborate on generating scientific evidence about the causes and consequences of climate change on water resources and basins. This paves the way for stronger international and regional cooperation. On the same day, the Baku Water for Climate Action Dialogue was held, with high-level representatives from the EU, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Moldova, the Netherlands, Slovenia, the UAE, the UK, and the USA participating. This platform aims to strengthen collaboration among COP conferences on water-related issues and their impacts on climate change, biodiversity, pollution, and desertification, ensuring that water remains on the climate agenda.
At COP29, significant progress was made, particularly with the conclusion of decades-long negotiations on carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This article enables countries to collaborate in reducing emissions through emissions credit markets. It is estimated that this approach could lower the annual costs of implementing national climate plans (NDCs) by up to 250 billion dollars.
Another crucial milestone was the establishment of the Baku Financing Goal (BFG), targeting 1.3 trillion dollars in climate financing for developing countries by 2035. The goal includes a commitment from developed countries to mobilize at least 300 billion dollars annually, particularly for the least developed countries and small island states. However, the recipient nations have expressed concerns that this amount is insufficient to achieve the desired results in climate action.
