Building upon years of engagement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate negotiations process, the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network will be traveling to the upcoming UN COP29 climate negotiations from November 11 - 22. We are honored to be advocating with an outstanding Frontline and Indigenous Women's Delegation to demand world governments take bold and transformative action for climate justice. 

 

COP29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan and is being called the “Finance COP” as governments prepare to negotiate and update key climate finance agreements including the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance.

 

As the world gathers, governments have a critical opportunity to reshape the climate finance landscape to prioritize justice and equity. At COP29, low-income countries are demanding a baseline of $1 trillion in annual support, a quantum roughly ten times larger than the existing $100 billion commitment, which was neither needs-based nor calculated primarily by scientific evidence. Civil society is calling for the Global North to pay up on climate finance— and their debt as historical emitters— and to commit to financing of $5 Trillion USD. Specifically, the call is for financing to be channeled through democratic, transparent and accountable mechanisms and cover adaptation, loss and damage, mitigation, and an equitable Just Transition. 

 

This year, scientists issued a red alert for the health of the planet, noting that six of the nine key planetary boundaries that stabilize life on Earth have been transgressed. Breaching the planetary boundaries means that the Earth is operating in a high-risk zone, impacting communities and ecological systems globally, providing further evidence on why we need adequate and quality climate finance.

 

Importantly, scientists note that there is still time to take action. WECAN will be at COP29 because we must engage governments in demanding bold and transformative climate action if we want to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Along with global advocates, WECAN will be in Baku to push for just climate policies and ensure governments, corporations, and financial institutions are accountable for their responsibilities in perpetuating the climate crisis, while uplifting community-led sustainable solutions for systemic change.

 

WECAN will present policy interventions, on-the-ground climate justice projects, reports, systemic change frameworks and strategies within a climate justice and feminist analysis to draw attention to the root causes of multiple interlocking crises, as we call for just solutions to shape a healthy and equitable world. We will be engaging in the following negotiations and topics while at COP29:

 

• Robust and transformative climate finance commitments for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)

• Government commitments to loss and damage

• An equitable fair, fast, and funded fossil fuel phaseout

• Gender-responsive and gender just climate policies

• Indigenous rights and sovereignty as a climate solution

• Just Transition and feminist and beyond growth economic models

• Rights of Nature

• Forest and biodiversity protection, and defending land defenders

• Denouncing carbon offsets and false solutions

• Holding corporations and financial institutions accountable

• International multilateral cooperation

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Additionally, COP29 comes ahead of country submissions of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), which embody commitments by governments to ensure that global warming stays below the 1.5°C threshold, and meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. 

 

NDCs are submitted every five years to the UNFCCC Secretariat, with the next round of NDCs due in early 2025. The upcoming NDCs represent a critical juncture, as the targets and objectives set will influence climate action and policy until 2035, marking the last opportunity to implement transformative actions needed to avoid exceeding the 1.5°C limit and climate catastrophe. Strong advocacy and agreements at COP29 can influence the ambition of governments in finalizing their NDCs. In September, WECAN released a set of climate justice recommendations for the NDCs, and will be bringing these recommendations to COP29 for interventions with government parties and representatives. Please see the recommendations here. 

 

Year after year, corporate interests and fossil fuel lobbyists continue to overwhelm the negotiations. A 2023 analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out Coalition found that over 2,400 fossil fuel lobbyists attended COP28, nearly four times as many as COP27, which set an historic record. 

 

Furthermore, the hosts of COP28, COP29, and COP30 have created a Troika partnership between the host countries, UAE, Azerbaijan, and Brazil, respectively, that will be leading the world through some of the most vital climate negotiations. However, new research finds that the COP Troika countries plan to expand oil and gas production by 32% by 2035. This expansion does not reflect the outcomes of COP28 where countries agreed to a transition away from fossil fuels.

 

Fossil fuel interests are also harming good-faith negotiations and multilateral engagement between countries. Recently, Papua New Guinea announced it will withdraw from this year’s climate summit after calling out the inaction of the world’s bigger polluters. Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said, “We will no longer tolerate empty promises and inaction, while our people suffer the devastating consequences of climate change.” 

 

Ending the era of fossil fuels is non-negotiable. To meet climate goals, countries must rapidly and immediately implement a fossil fuel phaseout and invest in just climate solutions and quality climate finance. 

 

While it is vital to engage within the formal UN climate negotiations process in order to intervene and advocate for policies that support people and planet above profit and false solutions— at WECAN, our deepest hope lies with the global climate justice movements organizing in magnificent diversity and strength across the world every single day of the year. We continue to organize with intention, care, and deep belief in a just and healthy future that uplifts our communities and ecological integrity. We will continue to fight for global climate justice!