‘12 days to land a deal’: COP29 opens with calls for accessible climate finance, carbon market consensus

Countries are expected to agree on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) and Article 6 during the summit being held in Baku, Azerbaijan

COP29 kicked off with not much pomp and very less splendour. Gone were last year’s glitzy displays reminiscent of an awards ceremony more than a climate conference. Outgoing COP president Sultan Al Jabar was the first to take to the stage and set the tone for the rest of the conference. “The critical success factor for all climate progress is finance,” he said. “We continue to call on all sources — public and private — to make finance more available, more accessible and more affordable. All eyes are on the ‘Finance COP’, where countries are expected to agree on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will be an update to the previous $100 billion climate finance goal.  

“We have just 12 days to land a deal,” said Mukhtar Babayev in his inaugural speech as COP29 president. Babayev highlighted the increasing alignment between corporate interests and climate action, stating, “A well-defined goal will reinforce our commitment and send a powerful signal to financial markets. We must invest today to save tomorrow.”

Consensus on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which deals with carbon markets, is high up on the COP29 agenda. “Article 6 is long overdue and will help ensure that protecting the planet pays by matching buyers and sellers efficiently. Such markets could reduce the cost of implementing NDCs by $250 billion a year. In a world where every dollar counts, that is essential,” he said. Despite the presidency’s optimism, carbon markets remain contentious with many UNFCCC member nations sceptical about the possibilities that wealthier nations may use them to avoid making meaningful emission reductions at home effectively “buy their way out” of obligations. And the lack of uniform global standards for corporates raring to jump into the carbon trade melee.

Yet, Senior Advisor to the U.S. President for International Climate Policy John Podesta echoed the optimism about the private sector’s role. “Here at COP29 and moving forward, the private sector must continue to lead to make newer and bigger investments in clean energy technologies to continue to innovate and build a net-zero economy. Podesta and the US seemed keen to reassure the world that the Trump presidency cannot derail the growth of renewables in the US, if the outgoing administration awards the funds committed as incentives to corporations under its Inflation Reduction Act, over the next 72 days. 

While several world leaders have decided to give this COP a skip, some important climate finance power players are attending this year. Barbados Prime minister Mia Mottley, World Bank president Ajay Banga, and EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, among others will make an appearance. Afghan Taliban officials are also scheduled to attend — a first since they came to power in 2021. The UN, however, has not given them the Afghanistan seat in the General Assembly. 

Negotiators at COP29 have their work cut out: deliver tangible climate finance targets in the next two weeks. “We need to mobilise public and private finance at a much higher scale. We also need to see progress on other elements of the agreement from Dubai, particularly on the energy transition. Not just tripling renewable energy output by 2030 and doubling the rate of energy efficiency but also implementing the transition from fossil fuels that countries agreed to a year ago,” said Alden Meyer, E3G, Senior Associate. 

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Anushka Mohite

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