COP29: Progress and Setbacks in Global Climate Action – A Mediterranean Perspective

COP29, the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 11 to 22, 2024. This major global event, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), brought together world leaders, negotiators, scientists, business representatives, indigenous communities, and civil society to further collective efforts against climate change.

The key objective of COP29 was to promote climate financing, a difficult task by default. Some results were achieved, but not to the level of expectation raised. The stated key priorities of the COP included:

• Operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, established at COP27, to assist vulnerable communities.
• Setting a new climate finance goal to replace the previous $100 billion target.
• Advancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to ailing with the 1.5 C warming limit.
• Enhancing carbon markets under the Paris Agreement’s Αrticle 6.
• Promoting renewable energy, adaptation financing, and methane emissions reduction.
• Launching pledges and declaration on energy storage, grids, zones, corridors and hydrogen which were endorsed by 150 Parties.

The conference emphasized the role of private sector investment and transparency in driving climate action. Multilateral Development Banks announced projections for their contributions to climate action as $170 billion per year by 2030, of which 120 for low- and middle-income countries. The venue, the Baku Olympic Stadium, hosted around 80,000 attendees in dedicated negotiation and exhibition zones. The event was impeccably organized, and supported by thousands of English-speaking young volunteers.

Key Outcomes of COP29

COP29 achieved some progress but also faced significant setbacks in global climate efforts.

1. Global Finance Goal: A new climate finance target of $300 billion per year by 2035 was agreed upon to support developing countries in addressing climate change impacts and transitioning to sustainable energy sources. What is more, the “Baku Finance Goal” of 1.3 billion annually was launched and expected to be mobilized by variety of sources, including private financing and innovative mechanisms. However, this falls far short of the $1.3 trillion per year experts deem necessary to meet the Paris Agreement goals.
2. Carbon Markets: After years of negotiations, rules for international carbon trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement were finalized. These rules will create UN-approved standards that will attract private investment in developing countries to reduce emissions, but concerns remain about the integrity of carbon credits.
3. Adaptation: The Baku Adaptation Roadmap was launched to strengthen climate resilience. However, disagreements on tracking indicators delayed the full implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), pushing discussions to COP30. For the first time, many emphasized the long-advocated point that “adaptation is the other side of the same coin of climate change,” underscoring the need for adequate funding to enhance mitigation–adaptation benefits.
4. Loss and Damage Fund: The fund became operational with new pledges, raising annual capital to $800 million. Yet, this remains vastly insufficient compared to the estimated $724 billion needed annually to address climate-related losses in vulnerable regions.
5. Fossil Fuels: A reaffirmation of the COP28 pledge to phase out fossil fuels was blocked by certain nations, delaying critical action until COP30 in 2025. This was a major setback for global mitigation efforts.
6. Urban Climate Action: Cities played a prominent role, with initiatives like CHAMP (Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships) advocating for urban contributions to climate plans. Despite this, the overall mitigation program fell short of delivering significant progress.

The conference highlighted persistent geopolitical and financial challenges in achieving climate goals. Discussions placed a strong emphasis on Nature-Based Solutions and references to Ecosystem Services. Progress on several critical fronts was deferred to future meetings, particularly COP30 in Brazil, which is expected to be pivotal.

Mediterranean-Specific Outcomes

COP29 addressed issues particularly relevant to the Mediterranean region, a climate hotspot facing rising temperatures, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss. Key outcomes for the region included:

1. Adaptation Initiatives: The Baku Adaptation Roadmap was launched, focusing on strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerabilities, which directly benefit Mediterranean nations prone to droughts, extreme heat, and coastal erosion. Efforts under the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) aim to track progress on adaptive capacity, including water management and agriculture—critical sectors in the region.
2. Loss and Damage Fund: The operationalization of this fund provides Mediterranean countries, especially those in North Africa, with access to financial resources for addressing climate-induced damages like sea level rise and extreme weather events. However, the fund’s capital remains profoundly insufficient to meet the high demand in vulnerable areas.
3. Carbon Markets and Renewable Energy: Finalized rules for international carbon trading (Article 6) encourage investments in renewable energy and emissions reductions, offering opportunities for Mediterranean countries to develop solar and wind projects while attracting foreign funding.
4. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and Navigation: Discussions on SAF and improved fuel efficiency in navigation emphasized the need to scale SAF production. In 2024, SAF accounted for just 0.5% of global jet fuel demand. Promoting SAF and operational efficiencies remains critical for achieving net-zero aviation emissions by 2050.
5. Urban Climate Action: With cities in the Mediterranean facing rising urban heat and resource constraints, initiatives like the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) stressed the inclusion of cities in climate plans. This supports urban sustainability projects across the region.
6. Methane Reduction: A focus on methane reduction (specifically the Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration) aligns with Mediterranean agriculture and waste management reforms. Countries in the region are expected to adopt measures under the new methane-reduction framework, targeting emissions from livestock and organic waste.

More than 7 years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs, Mediterranean countries still face major sustainability challenges like water scarcity, food and energy insecurity and ecosystems degradation, all deeply interconnected. Addressing these issues requires moving away from silo approaches, as we can no longer afford to tackle each problem in isolation when they are so intricately linked.

This is what the new special report from MedECC, which was announced during COP 29, is about: exploring the complex relationships between Water – Energy – Food – Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus in the Mediterranean. This report advocates for a source-to-sea (S2S) continuum approach to addressing the region’s complex environmental changes. It is worth noting that GWP-Med and MIO-ECSDE under the EU-funded WES project were key promoters of the WEFE Nexus in side-events organized by UNEP, UNECE, UNESCO, and FAO.

Although significant progress has been made in large-scale renewable energy projects in North Africa and European Mediterranean countries, greater dialogue and transparency are needed. While these advancements are promising, the absence of a clear commitment to phasing out fossil fuels and the limited financial pledges underscore the ongoing challenges faced by Mediterranean nations. The region’s unique vulnerabilities call for stronger international support and collaboration in the future.

Read in French here.