COP29: Day 2
Special Edition| Nov 12
Nov 12 marked the first day of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit where senior leadership from each country that is party to the UNFCCC provided brief remarks.
⭐ What happened on Day 2?:
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev directly addressed the criticism Azerbaijan has faced since being named the host. He highlighted the country’s green agenda and pushed back on the term ‘petrostate’ stating that today Azerbaijan’s share in oil production is 0.7%. “Right after Azerbaijan was selected as host of COP29, we became a target of coordinated, well orchestrated, campaign of slander and blackmail.” He called every natural resource, including oil and gas, as a ‘gift of god’: “To accuse us of having oil is the same as accusing us that we have more than 250 sunny days a year in Baku…Countries should not be blamed for having them and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them.”
UK’s Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer announced a new climate target to reduce its emissions by 81% by 2035, with the caveat that “it's not about telling people how to live their lives.”
Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin represented the country which will host the next COP in 2025, stating that Brazil is determined to be a “protagonist” in the fight against climate change. Like UAE, Brazil has also published its NDC ahead of the Feb 2025 deadline with an updated target of reducing emissions by 67% by 2035.
Leaders from Spain, Barbados, Sudan, Seychelles and other states called attention to extreme weather events.
To many people’s surprise, Afghanistan’s Taliban government’s delegation are attending COP.
US climate envoy John Podesta announced the EPA’s plans to fine oil and gas companies for methane leaks, levied at USD 900 per metric and increasing to USD 1500 by 2026.
Negotiations continue on the New Collective Quantified Goal, with G77 and China, an umbrella negotiating bloc, pushing for USD 1.3 trillion with no change to the base of which countries are considered developed and hence expected to contribute. Developed countries would like to widen the base to include economies such as China and GCC countries to support climate finance.
Sweden pledged USD18.4m to the loss and damage fund, contributing to the ~USD 700m committed last year at COP28.
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