3 December 2024, San Marino – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) contributed to discussions during the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 24 November 2024.
The conference, which brought together global leaders, policymakers, climate scientists, parliamentarians and civil society representatives, concluded with several notable outcomes.
The Assembly was represented by a High-Level Delegation led by Hon. Enaam Mayara (Morocco), PAM President, and by Hon. Pedro Roque (Portugal), PAM Vice President and President of the PAM 3rd Standing Committee.
In his remarks at the High-Level Segment of the Conference, the President of PAM recalled the vulnerability of the Mediterranean Basin as a “climate change hotspot” and urged for more ambitious climate policies, underscoring the critical role of parliaments in advancing bold legislative measures aimed at mitigating the risks of climate change.
After weeks of prolonged negotiations, on 24 November 2024, Parties finally agreed on a landmark agreement, the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), to triple climate finance to developing countries setting a new target of $300 billion annually by 2035. In addition, COP29 delivered on the Parties’ efforts to scale up finance to developing nations, from public and private sources, to the amount of USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
This funding will be crucial in aiding the most vulnerable community face the impacts of climate change, adapt to its ongoing effects, and recover from its devastating consequences.
Additionally, the Conference ensured the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund by early 2025. The Fund, established at COP27, is designed to provide financial assistance to vulnerable countries facing the immediate and long-term impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
Moreover, COP29 delivered on the establishment of the carbon-market, mandated under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which will help countries in halving global emissions this decade. PAM has warmly welcomed the achievement as, earlier this year, the Assembly already had called for the establishment of such a market, in a Resolution that was unanimously adopted by its Members at its last Plenary Session.
COP29 underscored the urgency of balancing long-term goals with immediate action, especially in the alignment of financial resources with the Paris Agreement’s goals, focusing on measures to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and build resilience.
India, however, rejected the NCQG decision, citing the insufficiency of commitments to address the financial and technological needs of developing countries, and calling for a more equitable approach that reflects the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
Despite COP29 remarkable achievements, Parties are left with significant challenges to overcome ahead of COP30, which will be held in the rainforest city of Belém, Brazil, in 2025, including rapidly ramp up renewables and sustainable efforts, transition away from fossil fuels, and agree on the so-called UAE Dialogue on Just Transition and its biodiversity goals.
The COP30 Presidency already affirmed it is working closely with the Presidency of the COP16 on biodiversity, to put nature and biodiversity at the core of the negotiations. COP16, after failing to agree on a number of crucial agenda items in Cali this November, will resume its talks in Rome in February 2025, where PAM will participate and contribute.
Looking ahead, PAM also reaffirms its commitment to further engage with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and advancing global climate action in preparation for COP30, to reinforce its parliamentary dimension and bring forward its Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf perspective and concerns.
In 2025, the Assembly will reinforce further its engagement vis-à-vis the most important environmental negotiations fora, having obtained the Permanent Accredited Observer Organization Status at the of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which held the opening of its 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16), in Riyadh, on 2 December. //