Mid-COP29 Summary - November 17th, 2024
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
C2ES is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to forge practical solutions to climate change.
Welcome to C2ES's COP29 Dispatch Series. To sign up for these updates or speak to a C2ES expert, please email Nora Zacharski at [email protected].
Technical level negotiations at COP29 largely concluded late November 16, with the closing of the work of the Subsidiary Bodies. Issues on which Parties reached agreement will be forwarded for formal adoption at the closing plenaries of the COP at the end of the second week. Of the remaining open issues, some will be taken up for further discussion in the second week of COP29, including among Ministers. ?
The transition from the technical first week of the COP to the political phase in week two is a critical moment. In a letter released late November 16,?the COP29 President outlined how he intends to approach the second half of the COP. He has appointed pairs of Ministers to try to reach resolution on open issues related to climate finance, carbon markets, adaptation, and mitigation.?
HIGHLIGHTS FROM NEGOTIATIONS?
1.Top line:?Technical negotiations on the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG)—the main anticipated deliverable from COP29—failed to resolve key areas of divergence between countries. The main sticking points are the quantum of the goal; whether investment should be included in addition to public finance from governments; and which countries should contribute to the goal. These issues will need to be resolved by Ministers next week as COP29 transitions into the political phase.?
More detail:?COP29 started with a 9-page?proposed text—the culmination of some three years of technical negotiations. After some countries rejected this as a basis for negotiations, the text ballooned following new inputs.?The latest version of the text, shared with Parties and still containing multiple options and divergences, will be forwarded to the COP29 Presidency as negotiations transition from technical phase to political phase in the second week of COP29. Reportedly running to some 25 pages, the text is as long as the Paris Agreement.? ?
2. Top line:?On carbon markets, Parties reached agreement on Article 6.8 and methodological aspects of Article 6.4. They have not yet reached consensus on key issues related to Article 6.2, and these issues will be forwarded to the second week of COP29 for resolution at the political level.??
More details:?In the second week of COP, Parties will need to resolve several issues where there is divergence on?guidance on cooperative approaches referred to in Article 6.2?of the Paris Agreement, which set the rules for the accounting and transfer of carbon credits or internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs). Namely, there is no agreement on: the conditions for potential changes to and/or revocation of authorizations of ITMOs; the connection between national registries and the international registry under Article 6.4; the timing of when corresponding adjustments are applied upon host Party authorization of ITMOs; the elements that this authorization would have to contain; the reporting procedures for Parties; and the role of the Article 6 review team.? Parties reached?agreement on Article 6.4—the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM)—on the first day of COP29. Parties endorsed?standards for?methodological requirements, including for?activities involving removals?that will generate emissions reductions or removals under Article 6.4 (A6.4ERs).? Noting?no consensus?was reached, Parties will consider?draft guidance?on the process for possible authorization of A6.4ERs—which are carbon credits representing reductions or removals of greenhouse gas emissions—as ITMOs, and the connection of the mechanism registry with Parties’ registries.?? Parties reached consensus on?non-market approaches (Article 6).?The report notes: submissions to the?Non-Market Approach (NMA) platform; Parties’ nomination of Article 6.8 focal points; the importance of capacity building on developing NMAs; and guidance in implementing the work programme’s second phase.? ?
3. Top line:?Technical negotiations on the UAE Dialogue on implementing the global stocktake outcomes did not resolve its scope—whether it focuses on finance or more widely covers mitigation and adaptation—leaving major options in the?informal note?to be forwarded to next week for resolution by Ministers.??
More detail:?The global stocktake outcome at COP28 established a dialogue on implementing the GST outcomes, to be operationalized in Baku. While the paragraphs establishing the Dialogue are general, they are situated within the finance section of the COP28 decision, resulting in deep divergence between Parties as to what the focus of the Dialogue should be.?
4. Top line:?Negotiations to improve future global stocktake processes failed to overcome major differences, such as whether to align the IPCC report cycle for input into the global stocktake. Next week, Ministers will engage on an?informal note, which is entirely bracketed—meaning nothing has been agreed.
More detail:?The COP28 global stocktake decision called for Parties to consider refining the procedural and logistical elements of the overall global stocktake process based on experience from the first global stocktake. This includes elements such as the timing and coordination of its phases, inputs, outputs, and composition and appointment of its co-facilitators and High Level Committee. The next global stocktake will take place from 2026-2028.??
5. Top line:?Negotiations to consider the implementation and progress of the mitigation work programme failed to reach consensus. No text will be forwarded to the second week of the COP and it is unclear whether there will be a process to take the issue up again in the second week.??
More detail:?The COP28 decision requested Parties to consider progress, including key findings, opportunities, and barriers in implementing the UAE Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme to inform a decision to be adopted in Baku. Parties have struggled to capture elements of substantive discussions, agree on the scope of future work, or agree on how the mitigation work programme relates to the outcomes of the global stocktake. While Parties failed to agree on a decision in the first week, the issue remains on the agenda for the second week of COP29, although it is unclear what the process would be for negotiations to continue.?
6. Top line:?Parties welcomed the newly-released?online portal?for the Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security and requested its further development by the UNFCCC Secretariat in?draft text. Discussions will continue on this issue at SB62 (June 2025).
More detail:?The draft text requests the Secretariat to enhance the structure, functionalities, and accessibility of the online portal to facilitate greater participation and knowledge sharing among Parties and stakeholders in the implementation of climate-smart agriculture and food security.?
7. Top line:?Parties have not yet reached consensus on several items related to the global goal on adaptation and will need to continue to negotiate in the second week, based on the most recent?draft text, if an outcome is to be agreed.?
More detail:?Divergence among Parties remains on key issues, including whether to include transformational adaptation; whether to include global, national, or flexible indicators in the output of the UAE-Belém work programme; next steps for refining and potentially creating new indicators; the inclusion of Means of Implementation (MOI) indicators; and the linkage between the GGA Framework and the second global stocktake. At the end of technical negotiations in the first week of COP29, Parties agreed that there is a need to reduce the number of indicators in the GGA but could not reach consensus on a specific target. They also reached agreement on the prioritizing common approaches and methodologies and enhancing collaboration across the thematic and dimensional expert groups to identify synergies.?
8. Top line:?Technical negotiations in which Parties reflected on past and future work for the United Arab Emirates just transition work programme ultimately stalled, and Parties did not agree on text.??
More detail:?At COP27, a work programme on just transition to discuss pathways to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement was established and operationalized at COP28. Parties were unable resolve differences on key messages from the year’s work; whether and how the work program reflects the outcome of the global stocktake; or on the inclusion of references to unilateral trade measures and provision of support to developing countries.?
9. Top line:?Negotiations on revisiting guidance on the features—or the characteristics—of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) will extend into the second week, with Parties working towards a document compiling all views and positions. Parties will meet again on Tuesday.??
More detail:?In negotiations ahead of the Paris Agreement, Parties were tasked with?developing guidance on the features of NDCs. Despite several rounds of negotiations, agreement on this guidance was not reached. Parties agreed to revisit guidance for NDC features at COP29.?
10. Top line:?Parties did not reach consensus on gender and climate change and forwarded?draft text?to the second week of negotiations.
More detail:?The draft text seeks to extend the enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender (eLWPG) for ten years and requests that a new Gender Action Plan (GAP) be developed by COP30. The main sticking points that are yet to be resolved include: whether to add new language to the eLWPG that references human rights and diversity; and whether or how to address finance in the decision. The existing eLWPG and its GAP are due to expire this year.?
11. Top line:?The 2024 Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) associated with loss and damage (L&D) due to climate change impacts and the joint annual report of the Santiago Network for providing technical assistance for L&D and the WIM Executive Committee were not able to come to conclusions.?
More detail:?Parties could not agree on key issues, including the location of the Santiago Network's regional offices, ensuring coherence and complementarity among various bodies in the L&D landscape, the need for enhanced finance and the creation of a state of L&D report. Disagreements centered the broader framework for coordinating efforts to address L&D impacts. Discussions will continue at SB62 (June 2025). However, progress is still being made on the Santiago Network.?The portal for Santiago Network?was released before COP29. Experts and those wishing to join the network can do so and this is an ongoing process. The Santiago Network is currently working on fulfilling its first request for information from Vanuatu.?
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUTSIDE THE NEGOTIATIONS?
2. Two countries announced their new nationally determined contributions?(NDCs) this week:?United Arab Emirates?and?Brazil, which are both members of the Presidencies Troika. New NDCs are due by February 10, 2025. NDCs are tracked in the?NDC Registry. ? ?
3. All countries (with the exception of small islands and least developed countries) must submit biennial transparency reports by December 31, 2024; so far,?nine countries have submitted BTRs.?? ?
4. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) is?ready to accept contributions?after the Philippines officially signed the host country agreement to host the Board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). Additionally, the World Bank officially signed the host agreement to host the FRLD on November 12.? ?
5. The High Level Champions (HLCs) issued a?progress report on the Marrakech Partnership?network of non-state entities across five different sectors. It showed, for example, that the power sector expanded renewable energy capacity by 473 GW in 2023, marking a 14 percent increase during the year, and that global investment in clean technology manufacturing reached approximately USD 200 billion, marking a 70 percent increase from 2022 levels.?? ?
6. The Troika of Presidencies emphasized the need for?enhanced international cooperation to accelerate domestic climate action?in countries, and key mandate of the global stocktake, at their November 13?high level meeting on Mission 1.5.? ?
7. The UNFCCC secretariat launched?a call for inputs to track?climate?action announcements made at COP29?that will inform the?Global?Climate?Action Portal?(GCAP). ?? ?
8. The targets on renewable energy and energy efficiency from the global stocktake outcome came into focus in the climate action agenda during the first week of COP29.?The COP29 Presidency held a?ministerial dialogue?on the topic, and civil society announced new goals, such as?the Latin America Energy Organization’s (OLADE) target to?improve regional energy efficiency by 1.3 percent by 2030, and the African Energy Commission’s target to?increase energy productivity by 50 percent by 2050.? ?
9. Endorsed by 50 global business leaders and a network of more than 700 financial institutions, the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA)?urged governments to accelerate green industrial practices, offering practical pathways for the decarbonization of heavy industries outlined?in a Green Purchase Toolkit.? ?
EVENTS
C2ES hosted three side events during the first week of COP29:?
Contact Us
C2ES President Nat Keohane and Vice President for International Strategies Kaveh Guilanpour are available for media comment and interviews. To arrange an interview contact: Nora Zacharski, [email protected],+1-612-246-9868