COP28, the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from November 30-December 12, 2023. Almost 85,000 attendees convened to discuss climate change solutions and monitor progress, including climate experts, heads of government, Indigenous groups, thought leaders and youth organizations.

COP28 finalized the first Global Stocktake, an assessment of the world’s climate change progress under the Paris Agreement. Unfortunately, that progress has been insufficient on almost every front. The conclusion to the Global Stocktake, called the UAE Consensus, highlighted critical goals for energy, nature, and transport, among others. To boost climate resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and equitably deliver financial and technological support for, and scaled up investment in, with developing countries, attending Parties agreed to accelerate action across all areas by 2030.
 

Key takeaways from COP28

• Loss and Damage Fund: Designed to deliver aid to the developing countries most vulnerable to adverse climate events, the Loss and Damage Fund was declared operational on the very first day of COP28, only a year after it was first proposed at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Governments pledged almost $700 million to help developing nations recover from and build resilience to climate change impacts, whether extreme weather events or slow onset impacts such as sea level rise.

• A transition away from fossil fuels: Parties agreed to a statement acknowledging the need to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly, and equitable manner. Delegates also agreed that action had to accelerate on this front to achieve net zero by 2050. While the statement did not go as far as many nations were hoping, COP28 inserted language on fossil fuel into the COP final agreement for the first time, making it clear that addressing climate change necessitates transitioning away from fossil fuels.

• Renewable energies: The UAE Consensus also included an agreement to triple the capacity and double the efficiency of the world’s renewable energies by 2030.

• Global Goal on Adaptation: The Parties agreed to a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). The framework includes consideration of, and targets for, such diverse areas as cultural heritage, ecosystems, food, health, infrastructure, poverty eradication and water. This foundation serves as a guide for national planning and strategy, as well as financial and technological capacity-building.

What to expect from COP29

COP29 will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, November 11-22, 2024. A city that carefully blends a modern technological outlook with an historic UNESCO World Heritage site, Baku is uniquely situated to host the twenty-ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“We face extreme heat, water scarcity, and declining water levels in the Caspian Sea that have a direct impact on our lives and livelihoods,” says H.E. Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan. “But we are also a source of solutions and opportunities.”

Heads of state and governments will join private sector representatives, global climate advocates and other experts to explore and negotiate solutions to the ongoing climate crisis.

The convention will have several critical areas of focus:

• Climate finance and the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG): COP 29 will be the ‘finance COP’: a chance to align the provision of funding and mobilization of investment with global needs. New global targets for funding and financing are vital to secure sustainable climate action and solutions.  The NCQG, currently set with a floor of $100 billion, will be a key negotiating priority.  Developing countries are looking for larger pledges, and for those pledges to rely more on public funding than private sector finance. The focus on finance will also explore increased contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund.

• Article 6 and carbon markets: The language of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement allowed mitigation outcomes from one Party to be counted towards the NDC achievement of another.  COP29 must discuss and finalize the guidelines for implementation. To deliver real action and avoid ‘greenwashing’ activities that do not deliver real results, Parties must negotiate confidentiality, content, definitions, and the processes needed for eligibility and review.

• Raising ambition following the Global Stocktake: Following on the steps taken at COP28, much attention will be paid to whether Parties are willing to put targets on the table that give effect to their pledge to move away from fossil fuels. Parties are expected to discuss the need to set more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2035 to remain on track for net zero by 2050.  

Overall, COP29 will be about matching ambition with concrete action, and securing both the public funding and private financing required for climate action. Bold and necessary climate goals require equally decisive implementation: the 1.5C warming threshold is dangerously close. The whole world must mobilize to prevent the climate crisis from reaching the point of no return.
 

WSP at COP29

At COP29, members of the WSP team from around the world will be actively participating in discussions on climate change resilience and sustainability. Our global experts have worked with some of the largest industries and governments in the world to develop solutions for emissions reductions, creating sustainable infrastructure, improving climate resilience, and preserving our natural environment.