Climate finance goal in focus ahead of COP 29
Published
The UN Climate Change Conference COP 29 will take place on 11–22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The key issues to be negotiated are the new global goal for financing climate action and emissions trading. The Government also wants to pick up the pace of work on new national climate action plans.
Sweden considers it urgent to raise ambitions in international climate action, but that this will also lead to many new opportunities for development and innovation. Sweden negotiates through the EU, and is pushing for Swedish priorities to have an impact on the EU’s positions.
All countries must submit national climate action plans
The parties are currently working on their new national climate action plans (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) for the period up to 2035. The action plans are to be delivered early next year. They are to encompass the entire economy, all sectors and all greenhouse gases.
At the previous climate change conference, COP 28, a global review of the parties’ climate action was carried out, called the Global Stocktake (GST). It was also agreed at COP28 to begin transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the world’s countries were called on to show this in their national action plans. European Council conclusions from 14 October show that EU environment ministers want COP 29 to result in an ambitious and balanced outcome where the 1.5 degree Celsius goal is still within reach.
A new global finance goal
The key negotiating issue at COP 29 will be financing climate action in developing countries. A new collective quantified goal (NCQG) on climate finance will be negotiated. The current goal of USD 100 billion per year for the period 2020–2025 was set at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009 and was achieved for the first time in 2022. In their Council conclusions of 14 October, EU ministers argue that a new global climate finance goal should be ambitious and achievable, include various flows of finance and be based on a broader group of contributors than at present.
The Presidency of COP 29 also aims to conclude negotiations on the regulatory framework for global emissions trading within the framework of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The EU is in favour of a transparent regulatory framework to ensure the credibility of the system.
Sweden’s international climate cooperation
In recent years, Sweden has joined a number of international initiatives that reflect political priorities and have the potential to push for a higher level of ambition in global climate action. These include a declaration to triple nuclear power globally, supported by the United States, France, the United Kingdom and others, the Climate Club (an initiative on accelerating climate action in industry) and the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda (which was launched in 2021 and gathers countries to accelerate the development and use of green technologies). Sweden and India launched the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), an initiative now supported by 40 countries and companies. Sweden would like COP 29 to be an opportunity for these forms of cooperation to show results and so encourage more countries to do more.
Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari will lead the Swedish negotiating delegation, which will include representatives from the Government Offices, several government agencies and the Riksdag. Climate Ambassador Mattias Frumerie is Sweden’s chief negotiator. Business Sweden will send a business delegation and manage a pavilion at COP 29. Swedish companies continue to show that they are firmly committed to being able to offer solutions that can speed up the transition globally.
Fact box
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has established that emissions must be reduced by 43 per cent from 2019 until 2030 to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. With the level of ambition reflected in current climate action plans (NDCs), emissions would decrease by 2–3 per cent. This significant gap must be closed in the new NDCs that will be presented some nine months ahead of COP 30, while implementation of current NDCs must be strengthened. The new NDCs will cover the period until 2035, which means that this cycle is considered crucial in order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The EU is preparing an NDC that will be common for all EU Member States, and the new NDC that will be presented next year will serve as an important model for other countries.
The negotiations on the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) are closely linked to processes outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The fiscal situation of developing countries and reforms of the international financial system were partly addressed within the framework of the Summit of the Future on 22–23 September, in the margins of the UN General Assembly and at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Annual Meeting on 25–27 October.
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