COP29 begins in Baku with push for pact

The 29th conference of parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change began in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday amid calls for an agreement right from the start.

"Now, it's the time to show that global cooperation is not down for the count. So, I urge you all, let us rise together," UN climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell told the opening of COP29.

"In the past few years, we've taken some historic steps forward. We cannot leave Baku without a substantial outcome. Appreciating the importance of this moment, the parties must act accordingly."

This year's conference is being held amid expectations as well as concern with the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, who has pledged to row back on the United States' carbon-cutting commitments.

Trump's return looms over talks, with fears that an imminent US departure from the landmark Paris pact to limit global warming could mean less ambition around the negotiating table, said sources in Baku.

The negotiating priorities will also be competing for governments' resources and attention against economic concerns, and the war in Ukraine apart from Trump's re-election.

These challenges aside, the conference is being held in a year which, reports say, will be the hottest ever yet. This will be the first year that global temperatures are over 1.5 degrees warmer than in pre-industrial times.

It signals that the world is dangerously close to the benchmark scientists have set to prevent the worst effects of climate change, including severe heatwaves, floods and draughts, mostly faced by the Asia-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the interim government, has reached Baku on a four-day state visit from November 11 to attend the global climate meet.

Bangladesh, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, will present at the summit demands and risks it is facing due to climate change.

Earlier, press secretary Shafiqul Alam said the chief adviser would address various fora of COP29 and he was scheduled to meet dignitaries here.

At the opening session, Mr Stiell said, "If at least two thirds of the world's nations can't afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price."

If nations cannot build resilience into supply chains, he warns, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune...

"We must agree on a new global climate finance goal," asserted Mr Stiell.

"So, let's dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and wealthiest."

But it is not enough to just agree on a goal, Mr Stiell said, adding: "We must work harder to reform the global financial system. Giving countries the fiscal space they so desperately need."

"Here in Baku, we must get international carbon markets up and running, by finalising article 6."

"We mustn't let 1.5 slip out of reach. And even as temperatures rise, the implementation of our agreements must claw them back," continued Mr Stiell.

Clean energy and infrastructure investment will reach $2.0?trillion in 2024, which is almost twice that of fossil fuels.

"We must agree on adaptation targets. You can't manage what you don't measure. And we need to know if we're on a pathway to increasing resilience," stressed Mr Stiell.

"And we must continue to improve the new mechanisms for financial and technical support on loss and damage."

The UNFCCC will launch a Climate Plan Campaign to mobilise action from all stakeholders, and align with the efforts of the UN secretary-general and the incoming Brazilian COP presidency.

"In parallel, we'll re-start Climate Weeks from 2025. Aligning them more closely with our process and the outcomes it must deliver," said Mr Stiell as he spelt out future course of action.

The conference will continue until November 22.

Meanwhile, leaders of civil society from most vulnerable countries (MVCs) and least developed countries (LDCs) have demanded a concrete commitment to "ending fossil fuel" from big emitters for a de-carbonised world in future.

They have also demanded a percentage of the emitters' gross national income (GNI) to finalise the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for climate finance for the 2025-30 period.

The leaders made the call at a press conference on the first day of the ongoing COP29 global climate conference in Baku of Azerbaijan. The conference titled "LDC & MVC Peoples' Expectations and COP29" took place at the COP29 climate conference centre in Baku.

Representatives from various civil society organisations (CSOs), including Abhishek Shrestha from Nepal, Soumya Dutta from India, Tetet Nera-Lauron from the Philippines, Thailk Kariyawasan from Sri Lanka, and Mrityunjoy Das from Bangladesh, participated in the event and shared their insights.

The keynote on civil society expectations was presented by Aminul Hoque from EquityBD, Bangladesh. He said global leaders continued to fail to keep their commitment to compliance with both mitigation and financing responsibilities and to come up with new ideas, which were creating obstacles as well as diluting MVCs' priorities and demands.

He also said the proposed climate finance action fund (CFAF) in COP29 negotiation was a vague idea, which was to divert the core attention of demanding trillion-dollar financing commitment from developed countries for NCQG.

Aminul raised some key demands in favour of civil society. For example, developed countries must change their theory of diverting peoples' demand and give a real commitment to both mitigation and financing for the 2025-35 period. Besides, there should be a political declaration from big emitters of ending fossil fuel by closing and phasing out all coal- and fossil fuel-based power plants by 2040 to get the results by 2050.

The declaration must be reflected in the national determined contribution (NDC) in 2025, Aminul said, adding that the existing climate financing system was extremely unfair and debt-driven.

The NCQG must be designed by ensuring a percentage of the GNI of developed countries. The fund would be delivered followed by its sub-sectors, such as adaptation, mitigation, and capacity development of MVCs and LDCs, he added.

Mrityunjoy of CARE Bangladesh opined that 300 million people were facing food insecurity around the world and they needed to adapt with climate change impacts. "We also need to protect the nature and align the new NDCs with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."

Soumya said Azerbaijan had an opportunity to show genuine climate leadership by learning from the previous COP events and focusing the debate on the decarbonisation dilemmas of petrostates. She hoped Azerbaijan would take initiatives to explore appropriate solutions by using the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dialogues.

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