COP 29: Uniting for Climate Justice, Accountability, and Action

International WILPF and the Environmental Working Group have a small delegation attending COP 29, with eight members participating virtually. Their reports, the results of final negotiations, articles, and reactions to COP 29 will be featured in a later eNews and Peace & Freedom Magazine.

COP 29 is a packed two-week program of sessions, seminars, and keynote speeches, with a specific focus each day. Program link
 

Here is the sequence of topics over the two weeks:

• Finance, Investment, and Trade
• Energy—Peace, Relief, and Recovery
• Science, Technology, and Innovation—Digitalization
• Human Capital—Children and Youth—Health/Education
• Food, Agriculture, and Water
• Urbanization—Transport—Tourism
• Nature and Biodiversity—Indigenous People—Gender Equality—Oceans and Coastal Zones
• November 22: Final Negotiations

There are separate meeting rooms, policy documents to review and discuss, pages of data to analyze, and actions to agree upon. Is this even possible in two short weeks?'Leading up to COP 29, many groups and civil society organizations have met to share information, discuss participation, and plan actions, which must be approved by the Secretariat in advance.
 

Climate Justice Coalition Perspective

The Climate Justice Coalition, which is coordinating many events and actions, writes:

“Join us in building a new and better world. While solutions will not be forthcoming from these COPs, the agreements and decisions made will have major impacts on our communities, people, and countries. These COPs and the processes leading up to them are vital arenas for various forms of engagement and mobilization aimed at resisting false solutions, raising demands for equitable and ambitious climate actions, building our movements, and gaining victories that advance our struggles for real solutions.

"We urge groups and organizations to hold peaceful protest actions to expose the harms caused by the fossil fuel industry in our communities and ecosystems, and to hold governments, corporations, and financial institutions accountable for the damages and injustices they inflict upon us.”
 
Key Topics to Watch for at COP 29

1. Transparent Climate Reporting

Transparency, a cornerstone of the 2015 Paris Agreement, enables stronger climate action. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell praised the first nine countries that submitted their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs): Andorra, Guyana, Panama, Japan, Spain, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and Singapore. These reports are due by the end of the year and set an example for others to follow.

These reports serve as powerful tools for governments, building a robust evidence base to strengthen climate policies over time and helping to identify financing needs and opportunities.

2. Finance
A key focus of COP 29 will be finance, as trillions of dollars are needed for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from extreme climate events.

3. National Climate Action Plans
According to the 2015 Paris Agreement, National Climate Action Plans are due by early 2025. If done correctly, these plans could limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels while advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

4. Loss and Damage
World leaders, diplomats, and delegates must work toward a global agreement on a financial facility to provide technical assistance and manage payments to developing countries suffering the most from catastrophic climate events, despite contributing almost nothing to carbon emissions.

5. Phasing Out Fossil Fuels
COP 29 is expected to demand a “just” financial transition out of fossil fuels and advocate for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. At COP 28, nearly 2,500 fossil fuel lobbyists attended, some as part of official delegations. After almost 30 years of COPs, fossil fuels are finally being acknowledged as the primary cause of the climate crisis.
 

“We all know the solution—a just phase-out of fossil fuels—and yet, emissions are still rising.”
        — António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, September 22, 2024.

6. Accountability for the Military-Industrial Complex
Hold the military-industrial complex accountable for its carbon footprint, which exacerbates climate catastrophes, impacts vulnerable populations, causes migration, and leads to food insecurity and conflict.

7. Project 2025
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership has gained attention for its implications on climate and environmental policies. The University of California, Berkeley Law, has published a Guide to Major Climate and Environmental Excerpts to outline its potential impacts.

8. Climate Observers Partnership Petition
The Climate Observers Partnership is calling for signatures on a petition demanding the immediate release of 329 political prisoners of conscience, protection of media freedom, and assurances that there will be no retaliation against civil society participants at COP 29.

Prepare for the Women’s March and People’s March in January

Order or locally produce Climate Justice+Women+Peace and Peace & Planet Before Profit banners for the Women’s March in D.C. and nationwide on January 18. Women’s March and People’s March on Washington events occur just days before the presidential inauguration.
See Resources and Support Materials for more information.