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Writer's pictureJackalyn Sorensen

UN Climate Conference’s Goals Fall Short of What's Needed

The 29th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP 29), an intergovernmental conference where countries convene to negotiate solutions to the global climate crisis, has fallen short of setting goals that experts say are necessary to halt climate change.

Pictured above, the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

COP 29, which is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Nov. 11 through Nov. 22 with 198 countries expected to attend, brings together nations from around the world to negotiate and implement policies aimed at reducing the effects of climate change and stopping future warming. The conference is focusing on climate finance this year, addressing the trillions of dollars necessary for green investment and adaptation.


Experts have said that the goals set by COP 29 fall short of what is needed to prevent the climate from warming to devastating temperatures. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations (UN)’s independent scientific research body, found that with current policies, the climate will increase to over 3ºC by the year 2100.


According to the United Nations, the earth has already warmed by 1.2ºC since preindustrial times, and emissions are only increasing. Keeping the climate below 2 degrees would require a stark decrease in emissions, around 43%.


When it comes to global emissions, the disparity between wealthy and poor countries is wide. According to a UN report, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from G20 members, a group of the 20 wealthiest economies, increased in 2023 and accounted for 77% of global emissions. 


Despite this fact, many leaders of these countries, including the United States, China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, and the European Union, are not attending COP 29. 


Many members of the Paris Agreement have also failed to adjust or meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) goals since the last Paris Agreement meeting in 2020. 


The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) predicts that funding to help countries, both developing and developed, become less carbon dependent will cost $500 billion to $1 trillion. The authors said the goal most likely could not be met by the UN or World Bank, as funding goals from past COPs with much smaller price tags have not been met either. 


COP 29 will also focus on Article Six of the Paris Agreement, which refers to development and using cleaner technology; climate justice, with an emphasis on marginalized groups and citizens of poorer countries who are disproportionately impacted; and loss and damaging financing, which compensates countries affected by climate change despite not significantly contributing to emissions.

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