UN climate change conference, COP29, starts off in Azerbaijan today

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP29 is set to begin in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Monday aiming to address increasing climate challenges ANI reportedAccording to ANI leaders around the world will gather in Baku for the event which will conclude on November 22 The twoweek event will see crucial negotiations dynamic discussions and global collaborations all centered around the ambition of immediately tackling of climate crisisThe United Nations said that unless all countries are able to cut emissions and build more resilience into global supply chains no economy including the G20 will survive uncontrolled global heating and no household will be safe from the impacts of severe inflationWith global temperatures hitting record highs and extreme weather events affecting people around the globe COP29 will bring together leaders from governments business and civil society to advance concrete solutions to the defining issue of our time according to the UN ANI citedA key focus of COP29 will be on finance as trillions of dollars are required for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change it addedThe first Conference of the Parties COP was held almost 30 years ago in Berlin This years conference will aim to increase the international goal to curb global warming below 15 degrees Celsius preindustrial levels to avoid any catastrophic harm to the planet ANI citedCountries will focus on pushing for more ambitious emissions reductions and exploring new sources of finance Among the most disputable issues that remain are how much money can the developed nations provide and who should provide climate financeThis years event is also focused on new financial commitment known as the New Collective Quantified Goal NCQG Countries are expected to replace the previous USD 100 billion annual commitment to developing countries from the 2009 Copenhagen Accord ANI reportedNCQG or the Finance COP will be the new target in this COP and is planned to take effect from 2025 onwardsThe Independent Highlevel Expert Group on Climate Finances 2022 report found that the developing countries needed around USD 1 trillion per year by 2025 and USD 24 trillion by 2030 in order to meet their climate finance needs ANI reportedThe main objective COPS29s is to secure agreements on financial targets so as to support vulnerable countries facing climateralted challengesThe COP29 marks the midpoint of the COP Presidencies Troika a collaborative initiative between the United Arab Emirates UAE host to COP28 and Brazil host to COP30 in 2025 aimed to accelerate progress towards the 15 degrees C goalThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCC is a multilateral treaty established in 1992 after the first assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCCAccording to ANI the main aim is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in order to prevent dangerous humaninduced disturbances in the climate systemThe UNFCCC has been the cornerstone of international climate negotiations since it came into effect in 1994 resulting in important accords like the Paris Agreement in 2015 and the Kyoto Protocol in 1997Today around 198 Parties participate in annual meetings to assess progress and put together responses to the climate crisisAs per ANI the Union Minister of State for Environment Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh is leading the 19member delegation from India to the SummitGujarat Minister of Finance Energy and Petrochemicals Kanu bhai Desai along with ACS S J Haider and Jai Prakash Shivahare MD GUVNL are going to represent the State government at the summitAs per the UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2024 there is a dire need for in annual emission reductions of 55 per cent and 9 per cent until 2030 to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius and 15 degrees Celsius respectively ANI reportedThe daily themes at COP29 will aim to address crucial aspects of climate actions which includes finance energy transition human capital biodiversity food security and digitalizationNoteworthy sessions such as the World Leaders Climate Action Summit will make way for highlevel discussions while dedicated days for youths health and urbanization will promote broad dialogueAchieving commitment in line with the 15 degree Celsius target increasing adaptation efforts and setting a new global climate finance target are among the main objectives ANI citedWith inputs from ANI