'COP' and the impact of decisions for Malawi

Accordion Content

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11th to 22nd November 2024, is a pivotal opportunity to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis. With global temperatures hitting record highs, and extreme weather events affecting people around the globe, COP29 will bring together leaders from governments, business and civil society to advance concrete solutions to the defining issue of our time.

COP29 will bring together world leaders and ministers to negotiate and agree plans to jointly address climate change and its impacts.

COP29 has been dubbed the ‘finance COP’ as trillions of dollars are required for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change including developing countries’ needs and priorities.

The conference will also be a key moment for countries to present their updated national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, which are due by early 2025. If done right, these plans will limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and double as investment plans advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

COP28 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, was the biggest of its kind. Some 85,000 participants, including more than 150 Heads of State and Government, were among the representatives of national delegations, civil society, business, Indigenous Peoples, youth, philanthropy, and international organizations in attendance at the Conference from 30 November to 13 December 2023.

COP28 was particularly momentous as it marked the conclusion of the first ‘global stocktake’ which was an assessment of how on track countries were to fulfil the 2016 Paris Agreement. Having shown that progress was too slow across all areas of climate action – from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to strengthening resilience to a changing climate, to getting the financial and technological support to vulnerable nations – countries responded with a decision on how to accelerate action across all areas by 2030. This includes a call on governments to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels to renewables such as wind and solar power in their next round of climate commitments. The next stocktake is due to take place in 2028.

COP27 took place in Sharm el Sheik in Egypt between 6th and 18th November 2022.

COP27 is the 27th climate change COP. The conference has been described as an “African COP” with the event’s tagline “Together for implementation”. It’s expected the severe impact countries in Africa are facing due to climate change, including droughts, floods, erosion and desertification will be key topics of discussion.

One of the main objectives of COP27 will be the pledge to limit global warming to below 2C and how to keep the 1.5C target.  Other key areas include addressing extreme weather events such as flooding or forest fires, with the objective to enhance “global agenda for action on adaptation”, climate finance and support and collaboration to turn what was discussed at Glasgow COP26 into action.

Rania Al Mashat, Egypt’s Minister for International Cooperation outlined the importance of climate finance in an article in the Guardian in May 2022,.

“For us, what we want this COP to be about is moving from pledges to implementation. And we want to highlight what are the practical policies and practices, the processes that can actually push the pledges, to bridge that gap.”

She added: “We want this COP to be about the practicalities: what is it that we need to do to operationalise the pledges into implementation?”

A ‘COP’ means ‘conference of parties’ and the parties are the governments which have signed the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol or the Paris Agreement. They meet once a year to discuss how to jointly address climate change the first such meeting – ‘COP1’ – took place in Berlin, Germany in 1995.

COP26 was the 26th climate change COP and was held in Glasgow in November 2021. 200 countries were asked for their plans to cut emissions by 2030. Over the course of two weeks, participants attended sessions and seminars to discuss topics related to the climate crisis, such as:

• Ways of adapting to our changing climate that protect communities, food supplies and natural habitats.
• Climate finance (how to finance solutions to the crisis and help poorer countries deal with the impacts).
• Reducing carbon emissions (who needs to reduce what, and by how much).

The most famous talks happened at COP21 which was held in Paris in 2015, when 195 countries signed an agreement to reduce emissions and aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C or less. But there has been little progress towards that goal. The world is warming because of fossil fuel emissions and extreme weather events linked to climate change – including heatwaves, floods and forest fires – are intensifying. The past decade was the warmest on record and urgent action is needed.

What was agreed at COP 26?​

• Recognising the emergency – countries reaffirmed the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and trying to limit it to 1.5 °C.
• Accelerating action – countries stressed the urgency of action “in this critical decade,” when carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced by 45 per cent to reach net zero around mid-century. All countries were asked to present stronger national action plans next year, instead of in 2025, which was the original timeline.
• Moving away from fossil fuels – countries ultimately agreed to a provision calling for a phase-down of coal power and a phase-out of “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies
• Climate finance – developed countries came to Glasgow falling short on their promise to deliver $100 billion a year for developing countries. At Glasgow the pledge was reaffirmed and developed countries have been asked to fully deliver on that goal urgently.
• Stepping up support for adaptation – a doubling of finance to support developing countries in adapting to the impacts of climate change and building resilience. This will significantly increase finance for protecting lives and livelihoods.

Other deals and announcements made in Glasgow include:

• Forests – 137 countries committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030
• Methane – 103 countries signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to limit methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, compared to 2020 levels. Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, is responsible for a third of current global warming from human activities
• Cars – over 30 countries, major vehicle manufacturers and cities set out their determination for all new car and van sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2040 globally. Road transport currently accounts for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions
• Coal – countries announced a partnership to support South Africa – the world’s most carbon-intensive electricity producer— with $8.5 billion over the next 3-5 years to move away from coal to a low-carbon economy
• Private finance – Private financial institutions and central banks announced moves to realign trillions of dollars towards achieving global net zero emissions