COP29: What Were the 3 Major Outcomes of the 2024 Climate Conference?

The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) has officially concluded in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This year’s conference was significant, with climate financing as the central agenda. And we did see an outcome on this front.

After intense negotiations, world leaders approved a $300 billion/year financing package to advance climate goals. However, the decision sparked mixed reactions and widespread debate.

In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of the COP conferences and unpack the three major outcomes of this year’s climate conference.

COP stands for Conference of Parties.

It is an annual climate summit attended by countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the common goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Currently, 198 members (197 countries and the European Union) are part of this convention.

Every year, representatives from these member countries meet to measure progress toward this goal, discuss challenges, and strategize new ways to address climate change.

The conference is attended by world leaders, delegates, decision-makers, private stakeholders, businesses, indigenous peoples, youth, and international organizations.

At the end of the conference, a statement or agreement is issued. For example, at COP28 in Dubai, nearly 200 countries agreed to ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ and at COP27 in Egypt, the “loss and damage fund” was established.

The wealthiest countries are the biggest contributors to carbon emissions, but it’s developing nations that suffer the most from global warming.

Climate financing helps these nations recover from climate disasters and transition to greener economies.

At COP29, rich countries agreed to triple their annual financial aid to $300 billion, up from $100 billion. This funding will come from multiple sources, including “public, private, and innovative sources, from bilateral and multilateral channels.”

While this sounds like progress, not everyone was satisfied. Countries like India and Nigeria argued that it’s still far from enough. In fact, studies also show that developing nations need between $1–$9 trillion annually to meet their climate goals.

In response to this feedback, the COP29 statement set a new target of scaling up climate finance to $1.3 trillion per year by 2035, with contributions from both public and private sectors.

In an important step, COP29 negotiators finalized the rules for global carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (2015).

Carbon trading allows the buying and selling of carbon credits and offsets. These credits are earned through activities like reforestation and renewable energy projects that reduce or remove CO₂ emissions. One carbon credit equals one metric ton of carbon dioxide reduced or removed from the atmosphere.

Countries and companies can buy these credits from governments or certified organizations to offset their own emissions. This means a carbon credit acts as a permit to emit a certain amount of carbon, as it ensures the same amount of carbon is reduced or removed elsewhere in the world.

This decision, made after a decade of negotiations, will help countries like India create their own carbon markets and move faster toward achieving their net-zero goals.

The idea of the fund was first introduced at COP27 in Egypt. Its purpose is to provide financial support to low-income countries that are especially vulnerable to climate change or facing extreme climate disasters.

At COP29, the loss and damage fund was finally made operational, a decision eagerly awaited by developing countries, including small island nations, least developed countries, and African states.

So far, $730 million has been pledged to the fund. According to the final statement, the fund will begin financing projects and distributing aid starting in early 2025.

This year’s climate summit was riddled with controversies.

Firstly, Azerbaijan is an oil state that is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Since the last two climate summits (COP27 and COP28) were also held in oil-dependent states (Egypt and Dubai), the choice of host nation drew criticism.

Moreover, there were heated discussions about the necessity of higher climate financing.

Addressing the conference, Indian Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh said:

“Despite not contributing to the problem, we in the Global South are bearing a huge financial burden on account of climate actions for mitigation on the one hand, and losses and damages caused by climate change on the other, thus severely limiting our capacity to meet our developmental needs.”

Thus, the $300 billion annual financial package was seen as disappointing by many.

But despite these concerns, there were some positive developments as well:

• India announced it had already achieved its 2015 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) well ahead of the 2030 deadline. The country has nearly tripled its renewable energy capacity from 2014 levels.
• Mexico set an ambitious target of becoming net zero by 2050 to aggressively combat climate change.
• Countries at COP29 committed to improving grid security and green energy transmission pathways.
• For the first time, COP29 created dedicated spaces within the Youth-led Climate Forum to ensure children could meaningfully participate in climate discussions.

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