COP29, due to begin on Monday has been dubbed ‘the finance COP’, and will be judged largely on whether it succeeds in stimulating a step change in financial flows to both climate mitigation and adaptation.
A new climate finance target in the shape of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) heads a list of priorities for negotiators in Baku, Azerbaijan, with extra support being demanded for developing countries.
Rules around Article 6 of the Paris Agreement concerning international carbon markets are also high on the agenda, to encourage greater collaboration between countries and investment in emissions reduction projects.
Another item on the agenda is likely to focus on details surrounding loss and damage funding, after the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage coming into effect at COP28.
With several key issues around financing to be resolved, the annual meeting has already found itself at the centre of scandal after an investigation by Global Witness led to allegations that the event is being used to discuss opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
A spokesperson for the international non-government organisation said:“The UNFCCC urgently needs to act to clean up the COP climate talks, starting by banning the fossil fuel industry from sponsoring them, and kicking their lobbyists out for good.”
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections has already caused uncertainty over how future climate discussions progress and will likely “cast a shadow” over the forthcoming talks, according to Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transition Commission.
To read a preview of COP29 by Environmental Finance, click here.