This year, we yet again witnessed the dramatic consequences of the world’s continued burning of fossil fuels, such as hurricane Debby in Quebec, the wildfires in Jasper, and the flooding in southern Ontario. Around the world, millions of people were displaced, harmed and even killed by climate catastrophe. 

It is in that context that world leaders will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22 to continue the global effort to address the climate crisis. This important gathering, known as COP29 (which stands for the ‘Conference of the Parties’), is the 29th annual United Nations climate negotiations since the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1995. 

Ahead of this important moment, here are the key things you need to know.

Why is COP important? 

COP is far from just a showy conference – it is an important forum that has created agreements and momentum which over the past three decades have measurably reduced the severity of climate change. Before the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, the world was on track for a catastrophic four degrees of warming. Though we’re still not on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, progress has been made that otherwise wouldn’t have been. For example, at COP28, for the first time, all of the countries agreed to a transition off of fossil fuels, a tripling of renewable energy and a double in energy efficiency. 

Let’s start with four quick reasons why COP is important

• Global equity: COP is the only forum where every country, including those most vulnerable to the climate crisis, has an equal seat at the table. Decisions are made by consensus, giving Global South countries, at least in theory, an equal voice, though Global North countries often exert influence. This is essential, as the Global South contributes the least to, but suffers the most from, climate change. COP has also established funding mechanisms for wealthier nations, like Canada and the U.S., to support countries needing help with climate adaptation and emission reduction. This COP aims to set a new funding goal to ensure fair contributions from wealthy nations.
• Global collaboration on climate action: We need global collaboration to address global problems. The most important outcomes of the COP process are binding treaties to increase climate ambition, like the Paris Agreement. Every year, negotiators at COP develop processes and tools which are used to ratchet up countries’ individual approaches to climate change. Alongside the official negotiations, lots of countries use COP as a platform for bilateral or multilateral initiatives, like a global treaty to reduce methane emissions. 
• Accountability: The process forces governments to report back on their progress against their “Nationally Determined Contributions”, which are their domestic plans to reduce emissions. At COP, everybody pays attention to which countries are leading or lagging. This can create pressure on polluting countries from civil society, the media, and through inter-country diplomacy and negotiations to speed up climate action. And that’s why Canadian civil society groups like Environmental Defence go there: to hold Canadian government representatives accountable!
• Global attention: COP is also a major moment where much of the world is focused on the issue of climate change. It’s an opportunity for impacted communities to share their stories on the world stage and for climate experts to help build awareness and public mobilization.

Who attends COP? 

The primary attendees are representatives from national governments that signed on to the United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change – the UNFCCC. Catchy, right? 

Each country sends a delegation that includes government officials as well as Ministers and their staff (known as the ‘negotiators’). They’re the only ones allowed to engage in formal negotiations.

But countries also bring representatives from outside the government to help shape the conversations. For the Government of Canada, this usually includes representatives from provincial governments, Indigenous nations and organizations, climate experts, labour, and voices from the business community. These people are allowed into some of the negotiations, but they don’t actually get a direct say. 

Observers are also welcome at COP. This includes non-profit organizations and other civil society groups and activists, industry representatives, scientists, labour representatives, and Indigenous nations. Observers are key to the COP process because they provide expertise and insights that can inform negotiations and, very often, push governments further. 

Unfortunately, fossil fuel lobbyists and other big polluters also have a strong presence at COP. Last year, the oil and gas industry represented one of the largest contingencies of interest groups present at COP28. Canada was one of the worst countries for enabling fossil fuel lobbyists to participate. There is a clear conflict of interest. Fossil fuel lobbyists aren’t coming to help push for more ambitious action. Their goal is to protect their profits (aka business as usual) and they do so by derailing the negotiations and blocking progress. Each year the movement to Kick Big Polluters Out of climate negotiations grows. 

What comes out of COP? 

The ultimate goal of COP is to reach global agreements and commitments to combat climate change, like the famous Paris Agreement, which was adopted at COP21 in 2015. Under this Agreement, countries across the world committed to doing everything in their power to prevent temperature rise above 1.5 degrees (which is the temperature limit beyond which climate catastrophe becomes irreversible) all while supporting sustainable development in a way that eradicates global poverty. This is a tall order and one that we are still fighting for. 

Other outcomes of COP include commitments from wealthy countries to help fund vulnerable countries dealing with the climate crisis, the signing of bilateral and multilateral agreements between countries, announcements for increased domestic climate action, and new collaborations between state and non-state actors. 

Why is COP28 happening in Azerbaijan? 

The COP summit rotates through different regions, and this year it was Eastern Europe’s turn. The country that hosts the summit also holds the pen on the final agreement’s text and is responsible for securing unanimous approval of the text from all other countries. Rotating the COP summit between regions is a way for the UN to help promote equity. 

Countries from the year’s designated region can volunteer to host the summit based on their interest and infrastructure. Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, therefore emerged as the chosen host for this year’s COP. 

Now you’re up to speed on what COP is and why it matters. Stay tuned for another update soon on what we’re hoping to achieve at COP this year!