COP29, climate finance and its optical illusion

🌍 COP29 (2024) – Key Facts for UPSC

• Venue: Baku, Azerbaijan (Nov 11–23, 2024)
• Participants: ~60,000 delegates from ~200 countries
• Nickname: “Finance COP” (focus on climate finance)

🔑 Major Outcomes

1. NCQG (New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance)
   • Developing nations demanded $1.3 trillion annually by 2030 (with $600 bn as grants/concessional finance).
   • Developed countries committed only $300 billion annually by 2035.
   • India rejected the NCQG, calling it inadequate, unconsulted, and against CBDR-RC principle.
   • LDCs & SIDS demanded earmarked allocations ($220 bn & $39 bn respectively) → not accepted.
2. Carbon Markets (Article 6 of Paris Agreement)
   • After 10 years of negotiation, procedural clarity achieved:
     • Rules for bilateral credit transfers (Art. 6.2).
     • Framework for global carbon market (Art. 6.4).
   • India expected to benefit as a hub for efficient carbon reduction projects.
3. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
   • Many countries pledged steeper 2035 targets.
   • Mexico announced Net Zero by 2050.
   • UK, Brazil updated NDCs; Norway, Canada, EU pledged more.
   • Indonesia announced retiring all coal & fossil fuel plants by 2040 (major shift as world’s top coal exporter).
4. Fossil Fuel Phase-out
   • UAE Consensus (COP28) on “transitioning away from fossil fuels” saw little progress.
   • No consensus on fossil fuel phase-out – a setback.
   • Coal debate resurfaced, with pressure on India.
5. Just Transition
   • India opposed “reinterpreted” text that placed more burden on developing nations.
   • Reiterated → Just Transition must begin with developed countries.
6. Global Stocktake (GST)
   • India opposed prescriptive follow-ups; emphasized GST is only to inform future actions.
   • Stressed pre-2020 mitigation gap by Annex-I countries.
7. Adaptation & Loss & Damage
   • Weak progress on Loss & Damage finance despite demands from LDCs/SIDS.
   • India insisted on country-driven adaptation approaches.

📊 Climate Science Updates (WMO State of Climate 2024 Report)

• Jan–Sept 2024 temp: +1.54°C above pre-industrial levels (possible warmest year ever).
• 2015–2024 → warmest decade on record.
• Extreme weather, Antarctic ice loss, glacier melt → accelerating.

🇮🇳 India’s Position at COP29

• Finance, not just mitigation, must be central.
• NCQG must be $1.3 trillion/year (with $600 bn grants).
• Strongly objected to “finance being sidelined” → rejected $300 bn deal.
• Opposed prescriptive mitigation & Just Transition text.
• Asserted CBDR-RC & equity principles must guide negotiations.

📌 Why COP29 matters for UPSC

• NCQG vs $100 bn (2009 pledge) → central theme in prelims/mains.
• India’s rejection of NCQG → highlights equity, CBDR-RC, finance vs mitigation debate.
• Carbon markets operationalization → important for GS3 (Environment).
• WMO 2024 report (1.54°C) → fact-check for environment & disaster mgmt.
  
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  COP	Year	Host City (Country)
  25	2019	Madrid, Spain
  26	2021	Glasgow, United Kingdom
  27	2022	Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
  28	2023	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  29	2024	Baku, Azerbaijan
  30	2025	Belém, Brazil (upcoming)

  
  
  Updated -  January 01, 2025 12:08 am | The Hindu