COP29 Dispatch

What Congress Needs to Know from Baku

That’s all, folks! COP29 has concluded.

COP29 concluded in Baku at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 25 (8:30 p.m. on Saturday night in Washington). EESI reflects on the outcome:

“The headline of COP29 was finance,” said EESI President Daniel Bresette. “Pledges of financing have been made in the past, and developed countries have to be held accountable at COP30 and beyond for living up to the promises of COP29.

“The world benefits from U.S. leadership, and backing away from the Paris Agreement provides an opening for other countries to step into the breach and increase their influence. It is plainly in the strategic interest of the United States to work to limit global warming to 1.5°C on a multilateral basis, building and strengthening relationships and finding new allies along the way.”

Read the full media statement here.

Thanks for joining us these past few weeks! This is the final issue of COP29 Dispatch. Find all the past issues here and our compilation of key COP29 announcements here.

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].

Keep up with EESI’s resources all year round by subscribing to Climate Change Solutions.

Key Takeaways for Congress

The final package of decisions coming out of COP29 is called the Baku Climate Unity Pact. (Negotiations)
The final decision on the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) landed on two numbers. The new climate finance goal for developed countries to deliver for developing countries is $300 billion per year by 2035. Globally, countries committed to working towards $1.3 trillion in climate finance per year by 2035. (Negotiations)
President Biden released a statement to the press, celebrating “another historic outcome” at COP29. (U.S. Updates)
Small island states and least developed countries, among others, expressed anger and disappointment at what they felt was an unfair, insufficient outcome. (Around the World)

Negotiations

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell embraced COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev upon the final agreement of the NCQG. Credit: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

Baku Climate Unity Pact: The final package of decisions coming out of COP29 is called the Baku Climate Unity Pact. All texts can be found here.

Concluding COP29: At the close of COP29, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell remarked, referring to the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG), “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country. But—like any insurance policy—it only works if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept to protect billions of lives .… We are still a long way off course. Bold new climate plans on the way to [COP30 in] Belém will be crucial to getting us back in the race. They must embed the targets we agreed in Dubai, including to rapidly ramp up renewables, transition away from fossil fuels, and transform societies, making them more resilient …. So this is no time for victory laps, we need to set our sights and redouble our efforts on the road to Belém.”

NCQG: The final decision on the NCQG landed on two numbers. The new goal, which will replace the $100 billion goal starting in 2025, is $300 billion per year by 2035 (i.e., between 2025 and 2034, the level of finance can be less than this). Developed countries must take the lead in delivering this finance, which can come from “a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources.” The decision also includes the $1.3 trillion figure that developing countries called for as the core goal, but it is instead included as a broader goal not specific to developed country responsibilities. The NCQG text also calls for a “Baku to Belém Roadmap to $1.3 Trillion,” to be developed over the next year in time for COP30. The roadmap is supposed to scale up “climate finance to developing country Parties to support low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development pathways and implement the nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans.”

Article 6: After nine years of negotiations, COP29 marked the finalization—and operationalization—of Article 6 under the Paris Agreement. At issue were Articles 6.2 on the governance of carbon trading between countries, and Article 6.4 on standards for an international carbon market, now called the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.

Adaptation: Of the five adaptation sub-issues under negotiation at COP29, only one, the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), was agreed upon. Significant wins on this issue include strong language on its “means of implementation” (that is, the finance mechanisms to make adaptation happen), the cementing of the GGA as an official standing agenda item at future COPs, and the launch of the “Baku Adaptation Roadmap.” Another significant negotiation item, on national adaptation plans, had originally seen considerable progress and strong consensus over the course of deliberations; nonetheless, the final draft text contained 140 undecided elements, and the issue was pushed to 2025.

UAE dialogue: The UAE dialogue was established at COP28 to guide countries’ implementation of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), including through clean energy transitions that include the phaseout of fossil fuels. Despite reaching a draft agreement, countries rejected the text during the closing plenaries. Contentious language included progress reports to track fossil fuel phaseouts, goals for energy grids and storage, and an annual meeting on the energy transition. The issue will be taken up again for consideration in June 2025.

Gender and climate change: Countries decided to extend the Lima Work Programme on Gender by 10 years. This means that the official negotiating agenda will continue to include discussion on the intersection of gender and climate change.

What’s next: COP29 saw a record number of negotiating issues “Rule 16'd”—that is, pushed to June 2025 for re-deliberation at the Bonn Climate Change Conference—making this meeting one to watch.

Read on: To learn more about the final outcome of COP29, check out Carbon Brief’s COP29: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Baku, Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s final day highlights, and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions’ newsletter on the conclusion of the negotiations.

Congress at COP29

Members of the U.S. House delegation in Baku. Photographed (left to right): Reps. John James (R-Mich.), Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), August Pfluger (R-Texas), U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mark Libby, Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.). Credit: Energy and Commerce Committee via X/Twitter

What Congress is posting about #COP29:
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) shared video remarks from the Senate floor on X: “As I said frequently at COP, we’ve gone through three stages on climate change. The first stage was the science phase: scientists did their job, and they gave us accurate warnings about the dangers of fossil fuel emissions to the planet and to humanity. Then we came to the political phase: we did not do our jobs. Despite the warnings of science, politicians yielded to an unprecedented campaign of obstruction and disinformation orchestrated and funded by the fossil fuel industry through a flotilla of dark money front groups and captured trade associations. Now, we enter the third phase of climate change, the economic phase: the time of consequences.”
- Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) tweeted, “It defies logic for Trump to even consider pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement again. We’ve made significant progress in recent years in our goal of leading the clean energy transition, but Trump is willing to surrender that leadership to China.”
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee stated on X: “@HouseCommerce is back from #COP29Baku where Republicans highlighted how our energy solutions ARE climate solutions. America has led the world in reducing emissions without sacrificing innovation, economic development, or national security.”

U.S. Updates

U.S. Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta speaks with Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Sue Biniaz as COP29 draws to a close. Credit: State Department via Flickr

Statement from the White House: On Saturday, President Biden released a statement to the press, celebrating “another historic outcome” at COP29. He underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to global climate leadership, which began with the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, and was reinforced through engagement at the COPs and through domestic climate action. Looking to the years ahead, the president expressed certainty “that the United States will continue this work: through our states and cities, our businesses, and our citizens, supported by durable legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act.” U.S. Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta echoed the sentiment on COP29’s outcome, sharing that this “is a very good result.”

U.S. climate announcements: In its newsletter, the U.S. State Department delegation to COP29 highlighted four key U.S. announcements on climate change. These include meeting climate finance goals set by President Biden, taking action on climate super pollutants, planning for expanded nuclear energy capacity, and announcing actions to protect Amazon ecosystems. The delegation also highlighted the U.S. endorsement of eight climate action pledges and declarations. All U.S. federal government announcements made during COP29 can be found here.

Around the World

Departing the COP29 venue in Baku. Credit: EESI

Presidency press releases: In several press releases, the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan praised the conference’s outcomes. COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev called the $1.3 trillion Baku Finance Goal “the best possible deal we could reach.” The presidency also touted the operationalization of the loss and damage fund, and the operationalization of Article 6, with Babayev calling the latter a way to “enable transnational solutions.”

A betrayal for LDCs: In a press advisory, the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group referred to COP29’s outcome as “not just a failure; it is a betrayal.” The LDC group took apart the NCQG as an example of the conference’s failure, noting its lack of ambition, exclusion of those most at risk, lack of support for loss and damage, and weak and vague attempts at climate finance. “This outcome is a travesty. It sacrifices the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable to protect the narrow interests of those who created this crisis,” the group stated.

Small Island States walk out: During late stages of the negotiations, representatives of small island states and least developed countries, among others, walked out of the negotiations, expressing that their climate finance needs were not being met. According to the BBC, following the closing of the COP, Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States Cedric Schuster remarked, “Our islands are sinking. How can you expect us to go back to the women, men, and children of our countries with a poor deal?”

China on the NCQG: China’s Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Zhao Yingmin expressed disappointment with the final NCQG outcome. In negotiations, the country had vied for a dollar figure of $500 billion in public grants per year for developing countries, a group with which China aligned itself at COP29. Despite its self-proclaimed status as a developing country, the nation’s leaders also announced that it had provided and mobilized $24 billion in climate finance for developing countries since 2016—a figure that would tie China with the UK as the world’s 5th largest provider of climate finance.

India and Nigeria on NCQG: Both India and Nigeria indicated that they did not agree with the final NCQG text that was adopted by the COP. According to Carbon Brief, both countries “accused the COP29 presidency of pushing the deal through without their proper consent, following chaotic last-minute negotiations.”

Transporting away from fossil fuels: On Friday, an event at the NDC Partnership Pavilion focused on how international climate policy can support a transition away from fossil fuels in transportation. Chilean Minister of Transport and Telecommunications (and International Transport Forum President) Juan Carlos Muñoz announced that every vehicle entering Chile will be zero-emissions by 2035, and every bus will be zero-emissions by 2040—a key part of the government’s strategy for the country to become carbon neutral by 2050.

From one UN conference to another: COP may be the superbowl of global climate policy, but international diplomacy on climate-related issues continues all year round. Next up: the UN Environment Programme’s plastic pollution conference in Busan, South Korea. Earth Negotiations Bulletin is the best resource to keep up with all these meetings throughout the year.

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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