COP29: Coalition seeks reform of climate action process

A climate policy group has called for significant reforms and an overhaul of the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP) process.

The coalition includes Ban Ki-moon, former UN secretary general; Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Climate Change (UNFCCC); Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; and climate scientist Johan Rockström.

In a letter addressed to Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general, and Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UNFCCC, on Thursday during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the group noted that scientists have warned that global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 4 billion tonnes in 2024.

They argued that the current COP framework cannot deliver the exponential speed and scale needed to secure a safe future.

The open letter highlighted seven key reforms for COP, adding that it is time for the conference to “shift away from negotiations to the implementation of concrete action”.

“Global emissions continue to increase, carbon sinks are being degraded and we can no longer exclude the possibility of surpassing 2.9°C of warming by 2100,” the letter reads.

“Our first encounter with 1.5°C was accompanied by unprecedented human impacts coupled with enormous climate costs running into the hundreds of billions in 2023.

“Science tells us that global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 7.5% annually to have any chance of staying within the 1.5°C threshold, a prerequisite for the stability of our planet and a livable future for much of humanity.

“In 2024, the task is unequivocal: global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 4 billion tonnes. 28 COPs have delivered us with the policy framework to achieve this.

“However, its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity.

“This is what compels our call for a fundamental overhaul of the COP. We need a shift from negotiation to implementation, enabling the COP to deliver on agreed commitments and ensure the urgent energy transition and phase-out of fossil energy.”

‘OIL AND GAS ARE GOD’S GIFTS’

At the COP28 summit in Dubai, countries agreed to make the shift from fossil fuels without completely “phasing them out”.

Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan president, however opened COP29 with a speech that described oil and gas as a “gift from God”.

“Oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all that are natural resources and countries should not be blamed for having them, and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them, people need them,” Aliyev said.

Oil and gas are major causes of extreme weather patterns because they release planet-warming greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

The selection of Azerbaijan as the host for COP29 has drawn considerable ire due to the country’s dependence on oil and gas exports, which account for half of its economy.

The UAE — host of last year’s COP28 — is another major oil producer.

In the letter, the experts expressed concern about the selection process for hosting COPs.

They said there is a need for host countries to “demonstrate their high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris agreement”.

The group also highlighted the high number of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP summits, stating that it reflects “a systemic imbalance in COP representation”.

“We need strict eligibility criteria to exclude countries who do not support the phase out/transition away from fossil energy,” they said.

“COP meetings must be transformed into smaller, more frequent, solution-driven meetings where countries report on progress, are held accountable in line with the latest science, and discuss important solutions for finance, technology and equity.

“Despite the climate COP’s new disclosure rules, a record number of 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access at COP28, nearly four times more than COP27.”