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Some 65,000 attendees welcomed an official day of rest on 17 November after a packed first week. Rumours in Baku Stadium centred on the progress of the COP29 Finance text, which Carbon Brief reported has reduced from 33 to 25 pages. Many brackets, however, signal slow progress in overcoming disagreements and a challenging week ahead for negotiators.
Several world leaders did not attend, including US President Biden, French President Macron, and the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen, though other countries did announce new climate plans. The UK, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates shared updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the conference, setting a standard for other nations to follow.
“This statement of intent signals UK leadership on climate and offers a valuable opportunity to attract clean energy investments, spur clean growth, and strengthen investor confidence in the country’s climate trajectory.”
The UK plans to cut 81% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, relative to 1990 levels, while Brazil pledged to cut emissions 59-67% by the same year, relative to 2005. The United Arab Emirates, host to last year’s COP28, announced its plan to reduce 47% of its emissions by 2035, relative to a notably higher baseline of 2019.
Reacting to the UK announcement, Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of IIGCC said:
“This statement of intent signals UK leadership on climate and offers a valuable opportunity to attract clean energy investments, spur clean growth, and strengthen investor confidence in the country’s climate trajectory.”
An unavoidable investment case
In the ‘real economy COP’, our delegation was on the ground to discuss how best to increase investment in emerging markets, the need for more investable NDCs including National Adaptation Plans, and the challenges of decarbonising the built environment.
This included co-hosting an event with the Atlantic Council, which convened financial institutions and climate finance negotiators in an informal discussion, sharing mutual needs to inform the negotiations. Moderated by Valentina Ramirez, IIGCC Head of Climate Strategy Implementation, investors emphasised the need for industrial policies that incentivise investments in climate solutions, encouraging negotiators to complement their approach to the NCQG to foster stronger engagement with private finance actors.
"“I can tell you how to talk to the trees, talk to the water. You can connect with Indigenous communities…Businesses have to invest in people.”
On day two, we co-hosted a panel with the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action to strengthen impactful collaboration between public and private actors to deliver climate finance at scale, particularly in developing countries. The event was convened by the COP29 Presidency with an opening keynote from Nigar Arpadarai, the Azerbaijani Climate Change High-level Champion.
Arianna Griffa, IIGCC Senior Policy Manager, moderated a panel with Rowan Douglas, CEO of Climate Risk and Resilience at Howden; Raquel Moses, CEO of the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator; and Juan Carlos Jintiach, Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.
more at IIGC
Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change