COP29 Dispatch

What Congress Needs to Know from Baku

Welcome! Today is the second day of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at COP29.

As world leaders gathered to share their hopes for climate progress, one thing became disappointingly clear: a striking absence of women. In fact, only eight out of 78 country leaders who spoke at the World Leaders Summit were women. Last year at COP28, just 11% of the leaders at this same segment were women. Learn more about world leader remarks in the Around the World section, and more about the impacts of climate change specific to women and girls in EESI’s article.

Meanwhile, U.S. leaders continue to stream into Baku, bringing with them announcements on a new federal methane reduction regulation, expanded domestic nuclear and geothermal energy ambitions, increased climate finance, and a new strategy on marine carbon dioxide removal research.

If you are in Baku, catch up with EESI President Daniel Bresette and Policy Director Anna McGinn! To connect, email Anna at [email protected].

Come visit us at Exhibit Booth 23 in Area B of the Blue Zone.

Missed yesterday’s edition? Check it out here. We are also compiling key COP29 announcements throughout the conference—check back for updates.

Getting lost in the COP lingo? Check out EESI's glossary of terms and other helpful guides in the Resources section! Looking for more information? Reach out to Anna at [email protected].

COMING UP

Join EESI on Friday, November 15, for a press conference on U.S. Perspectives from the UN Climate Summit. Speakers include:

Mayor Melisa Logan of Blytheville, Arkansas
California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot
Climate Central Chief Meteorologist and Vice President of Engagement Bernadette Woods Placky

Key Takeaways for Congress

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a federal agency, announced a total of $905 million in grants for clean energy in Sierra Leone, Belize, and Côte d'Ivoire. (U.S. Updates)
Multilateral Development Banks have set a goal of $120 billion in annual collective climate financing for low- and middle-income countries by 2030. (Around the World)
Panelists speaking at the Climate Action Innovation Zone said that China is a willing and able source of technology and capital that will drive the clean energy revolution, especially if the United States becomes less competitive internationally. (Around the World)

Negotiations

Industrial Transition Accelerator Roundtable. Credit: UNFCCC via Flickr

NCQG updates: The first iteration of the draft new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) was released today. Its 34 pages offer six options for the NCQG’s dollar amount, with numbers ranging from $100 billion to $2 trillion per year, and proposed timelines to meet the goal ranging from 2029 to 2035. Leading up to and throughout the opening of COP29, leaders from developing countries have repeated the call for $1.3 trillion in climate finance. The draft also offers consideration of new sources of climate finance, such as through carbon pricing.

Do keep up: Draft negotiation text is under discussion. Carbon Brief’s interactive tool can help you track every item under negotiation at COP29, from the NCQG to Article 6 on carbon markets and the just transition work programme. For additional updates on the negotiations, see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s daily report (detailed summary) and highlights (quick overview) posted each evening of COP.

Adaptation: The Nairobi Work Programme held an event today to look back on 20 years of work generating and sharing knowledge on adaptation, and building capacity to address climate impacts. This was the first program established under the UNFCCC that brought in non-country partners to help implement its mandate. As countries and partners look ahead, they highlighted opportunities to advance transformative adaptation, better integrate diverse knowledge systems in adaptation work, and understand how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning interface with adaptation.

Congress at COP29

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) submitted video remarks for the COP29 side event, Pathways to Address Global Deforestation. Credit: The U.S. Center via YouTube

Building healthy forests: At a U.S. Center event on pathways to address deforestation, speakers discussed the importance of forests in addressing biodiversity and climate crises, and ways collaboration and trust-building can help keep forests healthy. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) made a virtual appearance to draw attention to his Forest Act of 2023 (S.3371), a bipartisan bill that would prevent products of illegally deforested land, such as food products, from entering U.S. markets.
- EESI briefing: The Future of Forestry in the Farm Bill

U.S. Updates

A packed house at the U.S. Center. Credit: State Department via Flickr

California making a statement: California state government officials are making the rounds in Baku with messages on innovation, investment, and resilience. At the Climate Action Innovation Zone Sustainable Innovation Forum, California Secretary of Environmental Protection Yana Garcia provided wide-ranging remarks about clean energy being a powerful driver of economic development, as well as the state’s exposure to climate impacts like drought, wildfires, and excessive precipitation. “Progress is at risk writ large,” said Garcia, explaining that California is ready to work with the new administration and next Congress to advance clean energy and improve community resilience.

U.S. support for climate ambition abroad: A U.S. Center panel showcased past and upcoming foreign climate investments from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent federal agency. At the event, Deputy Vice President Jonathan Richart announced $480 million in grants for affordable electricity and climate-resilient transmission grid expansion in Sierra Leone; $125 million in grants for clean energy technologies and energy efficiency in Belize; and $300 million in grants for renewable energy, catalyzing private investment, and electric grid integration and updates in Côte d’Ivoire. Richart also announced a new $144 million partnership agreement with Mozambique to strengthen coastal livelihoods and climate resilience.

Private partnerships offer wealth of solutions: A discussion at the U.S. Center featured expertise from the Investor Leadership Network, which works to mobilize private capital in emerging markets to close climate finance gaps. Speakers emphasized that private capital mobilization will need to grow faster than its current rate in order to adequately support the Paris Agreement. Proposed solutions to this challenge include pooling and anonymizing data in emerging markets so that credit ratings do not reflect inflated levels of risk, and placing a greater emphasis on collaboration in project preparation.
- EESI podcast: Why Should Congress Care about International Climate Finance? With Henry Gonzalez of the Green Climate Fund

Climate as a threat multiplier: At a State Department and U.S. Department of Defense event on building global stability through climate resilience, panelists discussed how climate change and conflict can reinforce each other and contribute to instability and insecurity. Anne Witkowsky, assistant secretary for conflict and stabilization operations at the State Department, highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s recent U.S. Framework for Climate Resilience and Security, which is built upon the pillars of addressing climate-related threats, partnering for an integrated approach, and investing in collective resilience.
- EESI briefing: The National Security – Climate Adaptation Nexus

Commercializing technologies for hard-to-abate sectors: The U.S. Department of Energy’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports were in the spotlight during a Sustainable Innovation Forum panel about strategies to commercialize technologies that could decarbonize aviation and other emission-intensive sectors. This effort intends to relieve dissonance between supply—what a company can produce with limited capital—and demand—what the market is looking for without making long-term commitments. Panelists also described the role of philanthropy to quickly target resources to support innovation, as well as the need to teach entrepreneurship to researchers who have to sell their good ideas.
- EESI podcast: How the Department of Energy is Catapulting Clean Energy Innovation to Commercial Liftoff
- EESI briefing: Energy Earthshots: The Frontier of Climate Innovation
- EESI briefing: The State of Play for Nuclear Energy in the United States

Around the World

Our Ocean, Our Action panel at the Greek Pavilion featuring (left to right): Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations Ilana Victorya Seid, U.S. Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Sue Biniaz, Special Envoy of South Korea to COP29 Hong Sik Cho, and Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Credit: EESI

Heads of state (cont.): Twenty nine national leaders delivered formal remarks to open the second day of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit:
- United States | Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta promised that private sector investments catalyzed by the Inflation Reduction Act will continue to result in emission reductions “for years to come.” Podesta also reaffirmed the country’s goal of providing $11 billion in public climate finance by the end of 2024.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo | Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka emphasized that implementing a finalized National Adaptation Plan will require operationalizing loss and damage funds and reducing the barriers to accessing finance. She also called for the NCQG on climate finance to be set at $1.3 trillion dollars by 2030.
- Egypt | Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly highlighted the Sharm-el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda established at COP27 as an additional opportunity to strengthen Paris Agreement implementation efforts.
- Iran | Vice President Shina Ansari Hamedani stated that unilateral sanctions have prevented Iran from accessing global finance to develop green technologies, and called on member states to remove the sanctions.
- South Korea | Special Envoy to the President Cho Hong Sik reported that South Korea increased climate aid to vulnerable countries by 30%, and highlighted the country’s recent additional pledges of $300 million to the Green Climate Fund and $7 million to the loss and damage fund.

Our Ocean: Leaders from the United States, Greece, and South Korea discussed connections between the Our Ocean Conference and COP29. The ocean conference took place in Greece this year and focused on green shipping and coastal tourism economies. The Special Envoy of South Korea to COP29 Hong Sik Cho shared that the theme for next year’s conference in South Korea will be “digital oceans”—the idea that big data, AI, and autonomous navigation can be leveraged to address climate and other ocean challenges. For example, AI-based monitoring systems can be used to reduce illegal fishing and data-driven logistics can reduce shipping emissions.
- EESI article: “Making Waves: The Importance of Oceans at COP28”

Shovel-worthy to shovel-ready: An Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment press conference explored the gaps between fundable climate projects and investor interest. One speaker pointed out that a substantial portion of available climate finance is not accessible or ready for use, and illustrated how the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator helps “shovel-worthy” projects become “shovel-ready” by connecting investors with critical project data. The Environmental Defense Fund pointed to their methane reduction work, which has found that oil and gas investors are interested in abating methane emissions within the industry and can pressure companies to reduce those emissions by increasing interest rates or pulling funding.

New critical mineral recommendations: At COP28, countries agreed to triple renewable energy output and double energy efficiency by 2030—a goal that would result in tripling critical mineral demand. However, as the UN Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Minerals found, mineral-rich developing countries have not reaped the benefits of the clean energy transition. At an informal event today, the panel discussed a new report identifying five actionable recommendations and seven voluntary principles for ensuring justice, trust, and equity across the critical mineral supply chain. Recommendations included the establishment of a high-level expert advisory group to bolster benefit-sharing; a global traceability, transparency, and accountability framework for responsible mineral supply chains; a global mining legacy fund to address historic inequities and harm; assistance to artisanal and small-scale miners; and a process to set global targets for critical mineral circularity.

Policy barriers to unlocking innovation: During the opening panel of the Sustainable Innovation Forum, Lord Adair Turner of the Mission Possible Partnership argued that clean energy innovations require human ingenuity supported by policies and market signals to drive innovation. In turn, he said, businesses require regulatory certainty and stability, especially in difficult-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, shipping, and aviation, where emission reductions are needed most. Panelists cited China as a willing and able source of technology and capital that will drive the clean energy revolution, especially if the United States becomes less competitive internationally.
- EESI briefing: U.S.-China Engagement and International Climate Diplomacy

Global carbon budget revealed: At a press conference, scientists from the Global Carbon Project team released their 2024 Global Carbon Budget report. It found that fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions have still not peaked, with fossil fuel emissions and land-use change emissions both expected to increase in 2024. Project scientist Stephen Sitch called for “steep reductions in total emissions,” and highlighted the importance of protecting forests and scaling up technological carbon dioxide removal.

A measured approach to data transparency: The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute and Climate TRACE co-hosted a side event championing free and globally available emissions data tools that can be used for reporting systems like the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement. Panelists explained that AI and machine learning can help improve and synthesize emissions data, but cautioned that emissions and other environmental impacts from AI must be kept in check. Other challenges that were mentioned include data access and affordability in the Global South, as well as the difficulty of combining data sets of varying quality. This event showcased the Hotspot Analysis Tool for Sustainable Consumption and Production; RMI’s Oil Climate Index Plus Gas, spearheaded by Deborah Gordon of EESI’s advisory board; CTrees Land Carbon Map; and the Carbon Mapper data portal.
- EESI article: “Q&A: How Measuring the Differences Between Barrels of Oil Improves Climate Policy”
- EESI podcast: Empowering People Around the World with Stellar Satellite Data

Ready to PLOP: Perhaps one of the more fun UNFCCC acronyms, the PLOP, or provisional list of participants registered for COP29, is now available. The UNFCCC reports that 66,778 people are accredited for in-person participation and another 3,975 are virtual-only delegates. The excel file of in-person participants is available to download here. Carbon Brief has analyzed the list and found that Azerbaijan (2,229 people), Brazil (1,914 people), and Turkey (1,862 people) are the countries with the most delegates in Baku. The U.S. government has 405 people at COP29. The final list of participants (FLOP) will be available following the conclusion of the summit.

Checking the bank statement: Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) released a joint statement on Tuesday reinforcing their commitment to ambitious climate action. These international institutions with government shareholders are a major source of public climate finance. Having already exceeded their climate finance target for 2025, MDBs are now looking to 2030 with a goal of $120 billion in annual collective climate financing for low- and middle-income countries. MDBs also highlighted an updated approach to climate results metrics, an offer to assist countries in the development of their next NDCs, and a detailed vision specifying the role of MDBs in supporting the implementation of country-led platforms for climate action.
- EESI briefing: Congress and International Climate Finance

Progress to Net Zero: At a side event discussing Net Zero Climate and Oxford University’s Net Zero Stocktake 2024 report and the role of subnational governments, panelists underscored that while there are some entities and cities stepping up, much work remains. Takeshi Kuramochi, one of the report’s authors, noted that only 5% of the states, regions, cities, and companies with net-zero goals had goals that met all of the tracker’s integrity criteria.

Industry meets NDCs: At a We Mean Business event on the intersection of private industry and state NDCs, speakers from government and business highlighted the need to make NDCs ambitious, investible, detailed, and inclusive of differing sectors. This can provide companies the certainty needed to engage in long-term planning and lead in setting their own targets.

Dire state of the cryosphere: The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative’s 2024 State of the Cryosphere report found that current climate commitments are insufficient to prevent ice loss, which will have “disastrous” impacts across the globe. The report also found, for the first time, that the melting ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica may be slowing polar ocean currents, which could worsen sea level rise on the U.S. East Coast. Finally, the report indicates that if current emissions continue, ice melt will lead to extreme loss and damage and expensive mitigation costs.

Resources

EESI resources

Briefing series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP29
- What's on the Table for the Negotiations?
- Methane Mitigation on the Global Stage
- U.S.-China Engagement and International Climate Diplomacy
Climate Change Solutions: Bi-weekly newsletter covering climate, energy, and environmental issues
COP29 Announcement Tracker: Key Announcements from the 2024 UN Climate Summit. Also, check out this article with updates on past COP announcements.
U.S. Leaders at COP29: Updates on Members of Congress and Other U.S. Officials at the 2024 UN Climate Summit
EESI's United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Glossary of Terms

Tracking the negotiations

CarbonBrief: Reporting and analysis on the UN climate talks, with in-depth tracking of country positions in the negotiations
COP29 Resource Hub: World Resources Institute's extensive set of resources on the climate negotiations
Earth Negotiations Bulletin: A play-by-play of the negotiations, plus expert analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development
ECO Newsletter: The climate advocate’s perspective from Climate Action Network International

Background and logistics

Azerbaijan COP29 presidency website: Priorities, details, and logistics for the negotiations from this year’s host country
UNFCCC COP29 website: Conference details and all updates on documents produced during the negotiations
Congressional Research Service: Reports related to the UNFCCC

Questions about COP29?

Reach out to EESI Policy Director Anna McGinn with your questions. We will get back to you or include the information in an upcoming newsletter.

Thanks for reading!

This newsletter covering COP29 will be running from November 8 - November 25.
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Staff contributors: Daniel Bresette, Molly Brind’Amour, Alison Davis, Amaury Laporte, Anna McGinn, and Nicole Pouy

About EESI

EESI is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing science-based solutions for climate change, energy, and environmental challenges to achieve a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world. Founded on a bipartisan basis by members of Congress, EESI has been informing policymakers about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and environmental conservation since 1984.

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