COP29 has arrived – Interview
Today, the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference kicks off in Baku. World leaders and decision makers, along with many different actors from civil society are in Azerbaijan until the 22nd of November to discuss and find solutions to the serious climate risks threatening our planet globally.
Linda Burenius, Head of Climate, Sustainability and Communications for the Global Challenges Foundation is in Baku at COP29. We caught up with Linda before the conference to learn a bit about the GCF’s perspective, what to expect from the time in Azerbaijan and its potential outcomes.
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Linda Burenius
Head of Climate, Sustainability, and Communications
What is COP?
COP stands for the Conference of the Parties, to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995 and has since then rotated through a variety of host cities throughout the world, across the five UN regions.
COPS are climate negotiations and meetings, where the parties review the implementation of the convention and other legal instruments that have been put in place, such as the Paris Agreement that was adopted during COP21 in Paris. All with the overall goal of limiting climate change and its impacts.
These large conferences are also opportunities for decision makers, business leaders, and civil society to meet and discuss how to work together to combat climate related risks
The Main Topics at COP29
The central focus of this year’s COP is climate finance, even being given the nickname of the “Finance COP”. The main topic is the negotiation of how much money developed nations pledge each year to developing nations to help them reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. The current target of $100 billion USD per year is set to be increased, according to the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG).
Interviewer: Aside from the NCQG, what other key issues are going to be discussed at COP29?
Linda: There are of course many different issues to be discussed at COP29, both directly tied to climate financing and not.
One of the key issues is Loss and Damages. “Loss and damage” is not officially defined in UN documentation but it refers to the consequences, both financial and non-financial, of climate change that people are unable to adapt to, such as the loss of homes and lives due to rising sea levels or extreme weather events. Parties will be discussing the operationalisation and eligibility criteria for the new loss and damages fund to help recovery from climate-related disasters.
In general, the discussion around how much money richer countries are willing to and will be expected to give for the NCQG, the loss and damage fund, and other initiatives related to climate change will be an interesting and important one to follow. Setting a new global climate finance target beyond the $100 billion commitment aims to bridge the gap between climate ambitions and available resources by involving both public and private sectors.
Mitigation, the efforts of reducing emissions and increasing carbon sinks is another main topic, along with climate adaptation and each country’s plan to achieve the goal of limiting the increase in warming to 1.5 degrees celsius.
What is the current situation of our planet?
Our planet faces many issues that risk to push us closer to irreparable harm to the Earth’s biodiversity and climate.
The Earth Commission has quantified several safe and just Earth System Boundaries. Safe boundaries for the resilience and stability of the Earth system, and just boundaries for minimising exposure to significant harm to humans. When it comes to climate, the “just” portion of the safe and just boundary (1°C above pre-industrial temperature levels) has already been crossed. But the “safe” boundary of 1.5°C, which crossing would mean a high likelihood of multiple climate tipping points, is yet to be breached.
Hopes and Expectations for COP29
Interviewer: What are your hopes for COP29 in Baku?
Linda: It is time to scale up both the financial and non-financial commitment from countries to prepare for and mitigate the severe risks the planet and those who live on it face from climate change.
Beyond the best possible outcome of the negotiations between the countries, I hope that we will see stronger voluntary commitments from both countries and businesses to transition to a low-carbon economy. I also hope to see a continued push for actively pushing towards reaching positive tipping points.
Interviewer: Could you explain a little bit about positive tipping points?
Linda: Tipping points occur not only in undesirable processes, but also in desirable contexts. Whilst human activities are pushing the planet towards negative tipping points, such as when deforestation and erosion ruin all possibilities for new vegetation, jeopardising the very foundations of human well-being on earth, there exists viable solutions that could keep the world on track. Positive tipping points in this context is the point where the market starts to transform by itself at an accelerating pace. There are signs that tipping points for solar and wind power markets in many places have been passed, with prices decreasing, while the tipping point for Electric Vehicles is on its way to being reached in certain markets, like Norway.
Interviewer: In your opinion, how will we achieve the changes needed to combat catastrophic climate risks?
Linda: The world must rapidly and in an unprecedented scale transition to a low-carbon economy. Innovations that address solutions to the climate crisis and other earth system threats are key. Of course any new technology will start off at a disadvantage, due to barriers such as higher costs, fossil-based infrastructure, old norms and habits, etc. Well targeted, well-designed and timely policy or governance interventions can push potentially viable sustainable solutions beyond the hilltop, where the carriage starts rolling by itself.
I believe that it is possible for this big change to happen and for many positive tipping points to be reached. It will require a real commitment to a sustainable transition from policy-makers and the global business sector, but it is something I believe is truly achievable.
GCF at COP29
Interviewer: What will you be doing during your time at COP29?
Linda: I will be following the great work our different partners are doing on the ground, as well as moderating roundtables and having different meetings with the aim of promoting science-policy interface and increased ambitions. I will also be listening to and meeting new organisations and people, creating further relationships and potential partnerships for the foundation in the field of improved global governance.
