COP29, the United Nations next climate conference in 2024, is scheduled for November 11-24 in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia. Azerbaijan chose Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev to lead the COP29 event.
The previous COP28 event, held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November-December 2023, attracted roughly 90,000 attendees — including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors, the UAE said.
IT services, software, hardware and cloud companies increasingly attend the annual COP conference to build and strengthen various sustainability and green IT partnerships.
The timeline below, updated regularly, tracks all news ahead and during the event. Here’s the latest…
COP29 News: April 2024 Updates
Tony Blair’s Offer: The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), which was founded by the former U.K. prime minister in 2016, has approached the Azeri government with an offer of support for the COP29 climate talks in November 2024, Politico reported.
International Preparations: Conversations and preparations for the COP29 conference shifted into overdrive this week. The latest preparations and chatter involved dedicated meetings with representatives from Asian Development Bank, India, Israel, the Muslim Council of Elders.
China: Azerbaijan is eager to engage in talks with China regarding COP29 issues, said Hikmet Hajiyev, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, in an interview with Global Times, Azernews reports.
United Nations: The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has named Nazim Mammadov as its coordinator for COP29. Mammadov is UNDP’s national coordinator for environmental projects.
COP29 News: March 2024 Updates
NATO’s Perspectives: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appeared with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on March 17. Stoltenberg praised the COP29 host nation for its role in delivering natural gas to NATO allies, and also credited Azerbaijani for investing in alternative energies, Barron’s reported. Still, some critics continue to question why the event will be hosted in a country that leans heavily on fossil fuels.
Climate Finance Meeting: The United Arab Emirates will bring together country representatives and leaders from global financial institutions at a special meeting in June 2024 in a bid to scale up finance commitments at the COP29 climate talks, Bloomberg report.
COP29 News: February 2024 Updates
February 14 – Alliance: COP28 has launched the COP Presidencies Troika, which “unites COP28 with the next two COP Presidencies – Azerbaijan and Brazil – to drive ambitious collective climate action,” the COP28 leadership announced. The three will work on the ‘Roadmap to Mission 1.5°C’, according to the trio.
February 5 – United Nations Official: Top UN climate official Simon Stiell appears to be seeking to play a prominent role on the road to COP29 and COP30, Axios reported.
February 2 – United States Climate Ambassador: U.S. President Joe Biden has selected veteran Democratic official John Podesta as the US’s new top climate ambassador, Climate Home News reported. Podesta will oversee the US’s diplomacy up to and at COP29, the report noted. He succeeds John Kerry, who stepped down to work on Biden’s reelection campaign.
February 1 – Financial Services: Delegates from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have met with Azerbaijan’s minister of environment to prep for COP29, though details of the discussions were not disclosed.
COP29 News: January 2024 Updates
January 29 – Multiple Countries Weigh In: Azerbaijan representatives have met with leaders from Denmark and Germany to exchange views on event preparations. Details of the discussions were not disclosed.
January 29 – Key Leaders: Nigar Arpadarai has been appointed as UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29 Azerbaijan, COP29 said on its official X account. Also, Elnur Soltanov has been appointed as CEO of COP29 Azerbaijan, COP29 said on its official X account.
January 19 – Azerbaijan’s Climate Goals: Azerbaijan’s says it is on track to achieve its goal of 30% renewable power by 2030, according to its latest climate plan submitted to the UN, Bloomberg reported. Azerbaijan’s decarbonization plan also include cutting emissions 40% by mid-century, from 1990 levels — a target that’s below what scientists recommend should be done globally to avoid catastrophic global warming, Bloomberg noted.
January 19 – Women Added to COP29 Climate Committee: Azerbaijan added 12 women to its COP29 organising committee after criticism of the body, which had previously been entirely all male, Reuters reported. Related: This appears to be the list of COP29 organizing committee advisors, though we have not independently confirmed that this list is accurate, nor do we know which of the advisors are men or women.
January 15 – No Women on COP29 Climate Committee: Azerbaijan appointed no women to 28-member COP29 climate committee, triggering worldwide concern, according to The Guardian. In stark contrast, 63% of COP28’s organizing committee members were women, The Guardian noted.
January 12 – Getting Organized: Ilham Aliyev, president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has signed a decree to establish COP29’s organizational committee.
January 11 – Oil and Gas Perspectives: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said it’s important for oil- and natural gas-exporting nations to host global climate talks, particularly as they are also seeking to develop clean-energy sources, Bloomberg reported.
January 10 – Leadership Concerns: Some activists are calling for a process overhaul after an oil industry veteran was named to lead COP29, Inside Climate News reported.
January 5 – Conference Leader: Azerbaijan chose Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev, who worked for over two decades at the state oil and and gas company before entering government, to oversee COP29, Bloomberg reported.
News: December 2023 Updates
2024 Preview: Check back regularly for news updates involving the global energy transition, green IT services, renewable energy, sustainability, transitions from fossil fuels, and more.
COP28 News Recap: In the meantime, here’s a COP28 news recap from 2023 — featuring IT-centric updates from Atos, IBM, Kyndryl, Linux Foundation, Microsoft, NEC, the NZDPU climate data sharing platform, Schneider Electric, Sage Software and more.
Written by Joe Panettieri, Sustainable Tech Partners
