JUMP TO COP29 REPORTING GUIDE CATEGORIES
Introduction
Welcome to Covering Climate Now’s “Reporting Guide: How to Cover COP29.” CCNow is organized by journalists, for journalists, and we’ve prepared this guide with all of our fellow journalists in mind. Whether you’ll be on the ground in Baku or reporting from far away, this guide concisely acquaints you with the issues and context you need in order to give your audience the accurate, engaging coverage they deserve.
Make no mistake: COP29 is a big deal. Along with the many elections taking place around the world in 2024 — including Donald Trump’s return as president of the United States — COP29 could be the most important climate story of the year. To an audience in North Carolina or Johannesburg, Tokyo or Sao Paolo, these negotiations might seem distant and abstract. But what the governments gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22 decide, or don’t decide, will have enormous, lasting implications for the daily lives of people all over the world, especially young people.
It’s journalists’ job to provide the public with plain-spoken coverage of the COP29 negotiations and hold governments accountable for matching what science says is necessary and previous COPs have agreed to do: rapidly phasing out fossil fuels to cut global emissions in half by the 2030s, and massively boosting aid to poor and highly climate-vulnerable countries. Bear in mind that more than 11,000 scientists are warning that humanity faces nothing less than a “climate emergency” that requires immediate, far-reaching action. Let’s cover COP29 accordingly.
Please send any COP29 stories you’re particularly proud of to editors@coveringclimatenow so we can amplify them. Good luck!
Historical Context & Enduring Themes
Soft power. This November’s gathering is the 29th annual “Conference of the Parties.” These meetings are required under international law and the agreements reached there have the force of international law. Of course, that doesn’t mean all countries deliver on their commitments, but there is strong collective pressure to do so. Witness how the 2015 Paris Agreement’s call to keep global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial level — and preferably 1.5 degrees C above — is routinely cited in government, business, and media discussions as targets to honor. That consensus has shaped, albeit imperfectly, how both public and private sector actors have subsequently acted. (See the section “Are COPs worth it?” for more information.)
The role of the US. The US has been the dominant player in international climate negotiations dating back to the 1992 Earth Summit agreement that gave rise to COP negotiations. The US is the world’s largest historic emitter of heat-trapping gases, and second only to China in annual emissions. It’s the world’s biggest economy, giving it unmatched influence over global investment, production, consumption, and innovation trends. Although no longer as powerful as it once was, the US also wields enormous diplomatic power on the international stage. Because Donald Trump has pledged once again to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, the question of what kind of climate leadership the US will be providing going forward figures to loom even larger this year.
Fairness and the rich-poor divide. These are perennial issues at COP negotiations. The reason is simple: Rich countries and individuals have caused the problem by disproportionately emitting the most heat-trapping gases, while poor countries and individuals disproportionately suffer the consequences in terms of heat waves, drought, storms, and flooding.
Despite sometimes noble rhetoric at previous COPs, rich countries have generally not fulfilled promises to address these disparities. Their emissions are no longer increasing as quickly has they have been, but most of them are far from slashing emissions in accord with science’s demand for a 50% reduction by 2030. Nor have they provided all the climate aid to poor and vulnerable countries that is legally required under previous COP agreements. (See the “Climate Finance” section for more information.)
Are COPs worth it? That question is posed at virtually every COP, and for understandable reasons. Skeptics point out that despite 28 years of previous COPs, the concentration of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere continues to climb, manifesting in increasingly destructive impacts. On the other hand, COPs have led to significant achievements. For example, prior to the Paris Agreement, the world was on track for roughly 4-degrees-C of temperature rise by 2100. Now, the trajectory is for a 2.7-degrees-C rise–still way too much, but an undeniable improvement over a 4C rise.
It’s also worth noting that, as the late Saleem ul Huq, a key spokesperson for poor and vulnerable nations at every COP until his death in 2023, often said, COPs are the only international forum where poor and highly climate vulnerable countries have a voice in decisions that will shape their futures. That alone makes COPs valuable–and newsworthy. (Some of the sharpest articulations of the views of poor and vulnerable countries and communities now come from Mohammed Adow, the director of Climate Power Africa.)
Key Issues at COP29
- Climate Finance
COP29 has been dubbed a “finance COP,” and while every COP is a finance COP, the topic of money carries particular weight this year. The focus is expected to be on scaling up financial flows to help poor and highly vulnerable countries phase out fossil fuels and boost resilience to climate impacts. These countries need roughly $1 trillion a year of aid, according to a range of estimates summarized by the World Resources Institute — a 10-fold increase over the currently committed $100 billion a year.
NCQG: Central to this year’s finance discussions is the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), the new target that developed countries must meet to assist climate action in developing nations. The NCQG will replace the current $100-billion-per-year target, which developed countries claimed to achieve in 2022. “Claimed,” because independent analyses, including this authoritative study by Oxfam found that only about $22 billion of the legally required $100 billion in aid consisted of actual additional grants rather than mere loans or a re-categorization of previously promised grants.
At COP29, negotiations will focus on two key elements of the NCQG: the amount of money and the list of contributors.
The total amount of money pitched in will very likely depend on the much disputed list of contributors. Developed countries argue that several economies, notably China, should become NCQG donors, while developing countries contest that there’s no mandate to revise the current list of contributors.
Loss & Damage: The Loss and Damage Fund was established at COP28, but its operationalization has not yet been finalized. While there may be headline-grabbing contribution announcements, expect negotiations around the finer details of how the fund will work and be distributed.
Adaptation: The global adaptation framework agreed upon at COP28 was a milestone, but its implementation must still be finalized. One of the key issues at COP29 will be securing funding for adaptation, as well as establishing a clear set of indicators to track progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).
- Early NDCs
Countries are not required to submit new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) until February 2025, so the focus will only shift to those in COP30, which will take place in Brazil. However, some countries may seize the opportunity to make early announcements or unveil partial targets already in Baku. Current NDCs put the world on a path to a catastrophic 2.9-degree-Celsius temperature increase, according to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report.
- Azerbaijan’s Controversy
Azerbaijan’s hosting of COP29 has sparked criticism from civil society groups due to its petro-state status and poor human rights record. Civil society organizations have raised concerns about violations of civil liberties, military aggression, and reliance on gas exports. “In Azerbaijan, independent media and civil society are highly repressed,” declared Transparency International. Azerbaijan might use the summit to greenwash that reputation, but these issues won’t be overlooked by observers.
Dates & Practical Information
COP29 will be held from November 11–22, 2024 at Baku Stadium, Heydar Aliyev, 323, Baku, Azerbaijan. The local timezone is UTC+4, and Azerbaijan doesn’t observe Daylight Savings Time.
As with previous COPs, the venue is divided into two main areas:
- Blue Zone: Managed by the UN, official negotiations and events take place in this zone. It is only accessible to accredited negotiators, observers, and media.
- Green Zone: Managed by the host country and accessible to the public, this area will feature exhibitions and events.
The two areas require different accreditations. Blue Zone accreditation holders can access the Green Zone. Green Zone accreditation holders can’t access the Blue Zone.
Permits are required to bring media equipment (such as cameras and other broadcast equipment). Drones are not allowed. Any media equipment must be declared through this portal. Filming or photographing outside the venue requires a separate authorization.
Azerbaijan uses Europlug and Type F (Schuko) electric sockets.
All inquiries about the registration process should be directed to press@unfccc.int. Inquiries about the visa process, permits, etc, should be directed to mediaservices@cop29.az.
The Media Center is open 24/7, with reduced services overnight.
Detailed information can be found here.
Thematic Days at COP29
As usual, the COP presidency has proposed an agenda including a series of thematic days:
- November 11: COP29 Opening
- November 12–13: World Leaders Climate Action Summit
- November 14: Finance, Investment, and Trade
- November 15: Energy / Peace, Relief and Recovery
- November 16: Science, Technology and Innovation / Digitalization
- November 17: Rest day
- November 18: Human Development / Children and Youth / Health / Education
- November 19: Food, Water, and Agriculture.
- November 20: Urbanization / Transport / Tourism
- November 21: Indigenous Peoples / Gender Equality / Nature and Biodiversity / Oceans and Coastal Zones
- November 22: Final Negotiations (no thematic programming)