Luxembourg’s government sent a delegation of experts to the COP29 to assist in the technical aspects of negotiating this year’s deal but discussions around financing have slowed down efforts.
This year’s climate COP in Baku, Azerbaijan has been marked by several drawbacks, like the withdrawal of Argentina’s delegation and the election victory of Donald Trump, who pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement in his first term.
The mood at the climate conference is mixed, as progress towards drawing up a deal has been slower than expected during the first – technical – part of the two-week event, Georges Gehl from the Luxembourg environment ministry told the Luxembourg Times.
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“The mood here is a bit worse now because of the results of the American elections but on the other hand, I think it is clear for many players in the US that if they don’t make efforts in renewables in the next four years, their businesses will lose competitive edge compared to other countries,” Gehl said.
Gehl is the head of the climate, sustainable development and circular economy directorate and leads the Luxembourg delegation during the technical part of the COP. Environment Minister Serge Wilmes is set to take over the Grand Duchy’s lead during the political negotiations beginning on Tuesday.
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Financing blocks
Drawing up and reaching an agreement has been complicated, as a lot of this year’s deal hinges on finances.
“Because a lot depends on financing, things aren’t going as fast as we hoped for the other points on the agenda,” Gehl said.
“There are still a lot of more technical subjects that could have gone further during the first week but that aren’t clarified yet, like the Article 6 [of the Paris Agreement],” he added.
Also read:Why COP29 is the pivotal moment for climate finance
Hopes are that COP29, dubbed the “finance COP”, will result in a new climate finance goal. Right now, the global climate finance target is for developed countries to mobilise $100 billion (€92.6 billion) of climate finance a year to fund climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.
Developed countries were supposed to hit the target by 2020, but only did so in 2022, when they reached $115 billion (€109 billion).
According to the 2015 Paris Agreement, a new finance goal has to be agreed before 2025. In COP parlance, this goal is being called the new collective quantified goal, or NCQG. It is likely to be critical for the future of international climate policy and politics.
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The current $100 billion limit is “far from enough to meet existing and future needs,” Gehl said.
“Public money is the core of this but it’s also about mobilising private funds through public investments,” he added.
Luxembourg’s role
The main role of the Luxembourg delegation, which collaborates daily with other European member states representatives to defend the bloc’s pre-agreed position, is “within the EU coordination where we sit at the table and look at how the mandates need to be adapted,” Gehl said.
The delegation also uses the event to hold bilateral meetings with the developing countries it has cooperation agreements with, and to help Luxembourg businesses and organisations showcase their projects to the other attendees of the event.
One more member – Andrew Ferrone – is part of the EU negotiations team who will defend the EU position during global negotiations.
Also read:Development banks pledge $120 billion in climate finance by 2030
Other Luxembourg players are also attending COP29, like wmakersla Franz Fayot and Paul Galles, who attended the meeting of the inter-parliamentary union. The meeting set out to encourage deputies around the world to push their governments towards more ambitious climate efforts.
NGOs, businesses, financial sector representatives like Luxflag and youth representatives also made the trip to Baku.
Also read:Five Luxembourg students bringing country’s voice to the heart of COP29
Relevance of COP
With climate deniers taking up a bigger space in media and politics, and climate change evolving for the worse despite efforts, the COP’s relevance and use has been increasingly been questioned.
However, “we remain optimistic and constructive”, Gehl said.
The event represents the global political will to undertake something to solve climate change. “It’s a mobilisation of the entire world,” he said.
Activists and organisations have also asked whether future COPs should be scaled down, as the event now counts an increasing number of attendees – among which many fossil fuel lobbyists too.
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While some attendees, present as observers, could attend the event online instead of in person, Gehl said that “it’s good to mobilise many players that aren’t in the government, because they are all asked to implement [the agreements] on the field.”
Despite drawbacks borne from political decisions, the Luxembourg delegation has expectations for the event.
First, the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance must be defined and be ambitious, Gehl said.
In addition, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which sets the rules for carbon markets, has to be finalised, without there being any greenwashing.
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Lastly, decisions taken during previous climate conferences – like last year’s decision to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 – must be put into action.
“These agreements can’t just be on paper,” Gehl said. “We need to move forward.”
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Publish date : 2024-11-19 04:14:00
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