The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November, 2024.

COP29 marked a key milestone on the path from COP28 in Dubai in 2023, where the historic agreement to transition away from fossil fuels before the end of this decade was reached, towards COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where countries will be assessed on their updated national emission reduction targets and plans for 2035 – known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

During technical negotiations, climate finance took centre stage. The 198 Parties gathered to discuss the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) aimed at supporting developing countries in tackling climate change. However, ministers ultimately settled on the minimum necessary increase to the global climate finance target. The new goal – raising support for developing countries from $100 billion annually to at least $300 billion per year over the next decade – tested every country’s nerve. The Baku-Belém Roadmap was also established to promote international cooperation for a gradual increase in climate finance from both public and private sources. The goal of the Roadmap is to reach $1.3 trillion per year in climate finance by 2035.

Geopolitically, COP29 unfolded in a fragmented context, shaped by the new European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen taking office, the results of the US elections and ongoing global conflicts affecting both the North and South. In this context, COP29 struggled to make progress on several key issues, with many discussions postponed to future climate diplomacy meetings. This included the UAE Dialogue, last year’s Global Stocktake and the Just Transition Work Programme. Nevertheless, nearly 200 countries managed to strike a deal in Baku. While frustration with the decision-making process was evident, ministers reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism as the only viable solution to the global climate crisis.