The COP29 U.N. Climate Change Conference began today in Baku, Azerbaijan, and is scheduled to run until Nov. 22. COP29 has been unofficially dubbed the “Finance COP,” as the primary goal for delegates will be to create new targets for funding climate action, particularly in developing economies. (Washington Post)
Our Take
After several years in which climate diplomacy seemed to gather momentum, COP29 appears to signal a break in that trajectory, with less attention paid and less priority given to this year’s conference. There’s a few reasons for that, the most obvious being that the run-up to the U.S. election last week diverted attention away from the run-up to COP29. There’s also increasing frustration among observers about climate diplomacy being coopted by the fossil fuel industry. Both last year’s conference host, the UAE, and this year’s, Azerbaijan, are petrostates, only underscoring that issue.
And, of course, there’s the election last week of former U.S. President Donald Trump to a second term, which will have enormous implications not only for U.S. climate policy but global climate action. Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and vowed to boost fossil fuel production. He is also expected to reverse many of the actions taken by U.S. President Joe Biden to mitigate the effects of climate change and has pledged to once again withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, as he did during his first term.