Story: Dennis Ato Keelson, Baku, Azerbaijan COP29
In a landmark achievement, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded in the early hours of November 24 with a historic agreement on climate finance.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell delivered remarks to the COP29 Closing Plenary, thanking the Presidency for their efforts in enabling the finance COP in Baku. Stiell acknowledged that the journey had been difficult, but expressed relief that a deal had been reached.
“This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country,” Stiell said. “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.”
The agreement reached at COP29 is expected to keep the clean energy boom growing, helping all countries to share in its huge benefits, including more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all.
Stiell emphasized that the COP29 agreement marks a significant milestone in the global effort to combat climate change. However, he also cautioned that there is still much work to be done.
“We needed this to be an enabling COP – one which helped translate the pledges of last year into concrete reality,” Stiell said. “We will need to redouble our efforts to ensure that the promises made here are kept, and that we make rapid progress towards a safer, more sustainable future for all.”
The COP29 agreement is seen as a crucial step towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.