The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) happened on 11th to 22nd November 2024 in Baku. More than 70 thousand people participated in the conference.
CEN in collaboration with IYCN and Climate Reality Project India and South Asia organized Waste Crisis in Emerging Economies: Tackling Waste Management Challenges in Developing Countries and Highlighting Youth-Led Solutions. On Behalf, CEN Prakash shared the past experiences of CEN working in waste management and the recent practices with different innovation and skill empowerment from the local government, locals, youth, women groups, municipalities, and private sector in Nepal.
Engaged as speaker in the Youth Perspectives on the Future of Climate Action and Global Cooperation session organized by GLOCHA in the Digital Innovation Lab. Shared the platform with colleagues from the Global Center on Adaptation, Peaceboat USA, Climate Reality Project, Brazil, Baku, and the International Climate Change Development Initiative.
Organized virtual session Baku to Nepal: Overview of the 1st week of COP29 and Nepal’s Leadership in coordination with the Hon. Minister Ain Bahadur Shahi, Ministry of Forests and Environment. It was moderated by Anjali Sai Chalise.
Honourable Minister gave his remarks in the lead of the Nepalese delegation in COP 29 as Nepal's active engagement and also organized a high-level dialogue in which Nepal shared the recent incidents of Nepal and urged the need for the mountain agenda to be included in the COP processes. Maheshwar Dhakal Shared in detail how Nepal is lobbying to push the Nepalese agenda in the negotiations. Manjeet Dhakal shared the brief of how the overall negotiations are ongoing and its direction. Ramesh Bhushal shared the perspective that media and journalism need to facilitate and support Nepal's climate change agenda. Dikchhya shared in brief how youth are engaging from a conference of youth to COP and demanding a more inclusive outcome from the COP29.
Organized the Nepalese Media and COP29: Driving Advocacy for Climate Justice on 21st November. Many concerns about Nepal's engagement at multiple conferences have led to questions about Nepal’s leadership and Nepal is still struggling with the capacity/challenges to follow the negotiations leading its agenda at COP though Nepal had more than 165 national delegations at COP29. Session moderated by Shreya K.C. (CEN) followed by the Joint Secretary Sindhu Prasad Dhungana, MoFE, shared in the brief about the challenges faced by the Government leading and following the negotiations as 150+ meetings are happening in a day and parallelly is one of the challenges and others including the bilateral due to lack of pavilion and delegation office. Lal Airi from the Ghorkhapatra highlighted that the media should see through the issues of how Nepal is leading the agenda in the international arena and push on where are we lagging. Krishna Poudel from the National Agency of News highlights that media also needs to be aware ahead of time and share the proper information where media is lagging behind and also highlights the need for CSOs, Youths, and other groups to push the national issues and agendas to support the government.
Organized Empowering Communities: Scaling Up Locally Led Adaptation for Climate Resilience in partnership with DCA Nepal (Dan Church Aid) on Nov 21 at SHARE Hub. In moderation of Prakash setting of the context of the needs of LLA to adapt to the climate change impacts and how LLA works at the local level. Nag Dev Yadav from CDFAN gave a presentation in detail about the local innovation practiced in the river basins of Mahottar. Rainwater harvesting ponds, raising seepage water for irrigation and drinking water, and low-cost bioengineering to control erosion in torrents and gullies were some of the examples of the practices done. Yadav shared the results in supporting the livelihood of that area and also shared the learning and the challenges faced in implementing the projects. Elizabeth from Zimbabwe shared the best practices of African communities to use invasive species as biofertilizers as its costly to buy chemical fertilizers and cannot be available easily. She also shared the advantages of using it and increasing the yield of crops. But still, there are a lot of challenges facing due to climate change. Krity Shrestha from DCA shared details about the LLA principles and how DCA is supporting implementation at the local level. Rachel from the YOUNGO shared that YOUNGO has submitted the National Adaptation Plans which is youth-led after going through all the NAPs from different countries. YOUNGO is leading and negotiating with UNFCCC regarding the adaptation issues.
High-Level Side Event: Harnessing Sustainable Consumption and Production in NDC 3.0 organized in collaboration with CANSA and Swithc Asia. Rene Van Berkel from Switch Asia shared the presentation on circular economy and its importance for climate change focused on Materials Use Matters for Climate Change. Rene shared the usage of the materials from different sources are directly linked to the emission of the GHGs and climate change. From 1995 (15%, 35 GT) to 2015 (23%, 49 GT) were contributed to GHGs by the use of different materials. Hon. Romena Khurshid Alam, Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change and Environment Coordination, Government of Pakistan shared the importance of sustainable consumption and production and its practices. Dr. Achala Abeysingle from the GCF mentions that the GCF is always ready to fund projects for developing countries, LDCs, SIDs, and other nations to adapt and mitigate climate change. To achieve the NDCs of vulnerable countries like LDCs and SIDs, for the Adaptation, Environmental protection, mitigation and to tackle the climate change impacts GCF is actively involved and has financed a total value of 61.1 billion USD for more than 133 countries to date.
CAN Daily Briefing for action at COP29
Closing Plenary: Youth interventions
CSO action: Engaged in multiple actions in the COP
Nepal’s Delegation Briefing
Engagement in side events and pavilions
Major Observations and Findings
The host Azerbaijan contradicts this year’s COP as it is the 2nd largest fossil fuel refinery in the world. Fossil fuel lobbyists were seen at the COP29, Donald Trump's election win, and withdrawal of the Paris Agreement, the ongoing war also impacted the outcome of COP29 which it couldn't deliver what it needed to deliver. This year in COP29, more than 70 thousand people participated. Many parallel sessions, sharing sessions, and side events were ongoing at the same time Negotiations in different agendas as well. This COP was majorly focused on finance however, there was a separate theme assigned each day to highlight its importance.
In the World Leaders Summit of Scientists, they shared that this year is going to be the hottest on record with the COP failing to limit the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Whereas IPCC mentioned in the Cryosphere pavilion that if the current trend of emission continues and sticks in the NDCs then the global temperature will reach 3.5 degrees Celsius where the small island developing states are in a high vulnerability being under the sea level. Countries like the UK, and SWEDEN are ambitious and committed to supporting developing countries, including LDCs and SIDs. During the 6th High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance, Sweden commits around 763 million USD for the GCF and 100+ million USD for the loss and damage fund. Further mentions that NCQG must be ambitious enough to support developing countries. UK mentions nee of a Global financing system and mechanisms is required and NCQG must be deliverable, need for quality finance and accessibility to climate finance by developing countries. Commits to continuation to support the global south for climate resilience.
COP29 could not meet the demand of developing countries including the Least Developed Countries and Small Island States. However, concerted pressure from the most vulnerable developing countries resulted in an improved outcome on some of the agenda on finance: Triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of USD 100 billion annually to USD 300 billion annually by 2035 and scaling up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources to USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG).
One of the key adaptation agenda items in Baku, the national adaptation plan (NAP) assessment was forwarded to 2025 for further consideration, failing to meet the deadline countries set for themselves back in 2021. The COP29 outcome failed to reiterate a call to phase out fossil fuel subsidies explicitly and represented a step backward in the hard-won UAE energy package consensus.
Significant progress was made on carbon markets, achieving a milestone after nearly a decade of efforts. Countries agreed on the final components necessary for the operation of carbon markets (Article 6.4) under the Paris Agreement, including the mechanisms for country-to-country trading (Article 6.2) and carbon crediting.
Transparency in climate reporting also saw significant advancements at COP29 in Baku, enhancing the evidence base to strengthen climate policies and identify financing needs. All transparency negotiation items were successfully concluded, with appreciation for the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) tools, technical training, and support provided to developing countries. The UNFCCC's #Together4Transparency initiative underscored the importance of transparency in preparing the 1st Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and recognizing the significance of inclusive meaningful participation of non-party stakeholders.
Parties agreed on a 10-year extension of the Lima work program on gender but missed an opportunity to adopt a more nuanced and intersectional approach to gender issues. Additionally, the NCQG decision does not explicitly address human rights or the imperative of gender-responsive climate finance.
Recommendations
Countries must enhance their NDCs to close the gap between current commitments and the targets needed to limit global warming. Encourage the inclusion of more ambitious short-term targets. Call for developed countries to fulfill their financial commitments, particularly the $1.3 Trillion annual target for climate finance in COP30. Promote innovative financing mechanisms to mobilize additional resources for loss and damage, mitigation and adaptation. Increased investment in adaptation measures is recommended, especially for vulnerable countries and communities. Support the development of national adaptation plans and their integration into broader development strategies.
Promoting Technology Transfer and Capacity Building:
Foster international cooperation on technology transfer to ensure that developing countries have access to low-carbon and resilient technologies.
Enhance capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the ability of countries to implement and monitor climate actions.
Strengthening Global Cooperation:
Emphasize the importance of multilateral cooperation and the role of international organizations in facilitating climate action.
Encourage partnerships between governments, the private sector, and civil society.
Carbon Market (article 6.2 & 6.4)
Countries should prioritize increasing and conserving the forest cover and capturing the carbon from the atmosphere
The outcomes of articles 6.4 and 6.2 should not benefit the carbon-emitting nations to continue emissions rather but encourage to mitigate the fossil fuel subsidies. The carbon tax should be increased to stop the misuse of this agreement.
Climate Finance should be focused on the grants based and the source should be public finance.
Action Points/Decisions
The disappointment of the COP29 outcome must be acknowledged; it has failed to guide the future of Earth towards a sustainable and healthy planet. People around the world need to raise stronger voices, and developing countries must collaborate with Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to showcase their development through clean energy, rather than pushing away the LDCs and SIDS. The geopolitical issues surrounding mining and war should be resolved.
Inclusive participation and representation of all stakeholders at the decision-making table are essential. Nepal should focus on strengthening its position by enhancing its capabilities rather than merely increasing the number of delegates. The media plays a crucial role in pressuring leaders, highlighting the achievements of negotiations, showcasing Nepal’s interventions, and delivering positive messages. It should also pressure the developed countries to be accountable.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are vital as watchdogs, pressuring local to international governance and leaders, and supporting sustainable development through ground-level actions and activities. CSOs also play a key role in the international arena by holding world leaders accountable and bringing grassroots stories to international platforms. This can foster collaboration and partnerships with donors and support the integration of national policies and activities.
Each country must submit revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by February 2025 which must be ambitious and must include transitioning away from fossil fuels and moving toward clean energy to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Nepal can play a pivotal role by reducing its emissions, focusing on clean energy transition, and setting an example to pressure both developing and developed nations. As civic organizations, we can collect the voices of various communities in Nepal and stakeholders to review NDCs, providing input to encourage the government to integrate these community voices. Continuity in awareness, action, and capacity building is necessary to discuss the outcomes of such conferences and gather collective voices to enhance interventions from local to national and international negotiations in combating climate change.
Encourage to promote the active participation of children & youth, women, people with disabilities, Indigenous people, and marginalized groups in climate action and decision-making.
Together, we can create a sustainable and healthy planet again. Unified action for climate change is crucial, and every stakeholder has a role to play. Governments, private sectors, civil society, media, and individuals must work collaboratively to ensure the commitments made are honored and the necessary steps are taken to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Let's unify for climate action and strive towards a future where global warming is limited, and resilience is built across all communities, particularly the most vulnerable.
Let's unify for climate action.
