Interface Africa’s Post

#TERIatCOP29 Join us at COP29 Azerbaijan today for impactful sessions exploring #energytransitions, #technologytransfer, and #innovativefinancing Session 1: SDG-Climate Synergies and Multilateralism: Implications for Energy Futures 🕠 Time: 17:30-18:25 AZT  📍 Location: Solar Hub, Blue Zone, COP29 ℹ This session will emphasize the importance of partnerships in scaling up innovations, mobilizing financing, and ensuring inclusive and equitable energy transitions that benefit diverse communities.  Session 2: Panel Session with IPCC Chair and Indian Business Leaders 🕕 Time: 18:00-19:00 AZT  📍 Location: WGEO Pavilion, Blue Zone, COP29 ℹ The session will discuss and highlight how cooperation, especially in the form of technology transfers and innovative finance can help operationalize transition plans across high-emission industries and provide an avenue for addressing shared business goals. Together we can drive transformative change and accelerate the global transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future 🌍⚡🌱 International Solar Alliance | Invest India | Boston Consulting Group (BCG) #TERIatCOP29 #COP29 #Act4Earth #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #ClimateJustice #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateFinance #ClimateAdaptation

COP29 Azerbaijan is approaching! 📅 #Hydrogen is a key topic in UNIDO's Event Calendar. ✅ Scaling up the production and deployment of #lowemission hydrogen and its derivatives is essential to accelerate the global clean #energytransition, limit temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and achieve #SDG7’s goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. ✅ At COP29, UNIDO will highlight the various initiatives of The Global Programme for Hydrogen in Industry, aimed at promoting economic opportunities while supporting just and equitable transitions. 🎯 In #Baku, our team (Petra, Heng, Smeeta, Jan, Maria, Venkat, Alvin Tepo, Eva) will be hosting several events at the UNIDO pavilion and connecting with leaders in #hydrogen and #cleanenergy! ➡ If you're attending #COP29 , be sure to check our event calendar and stay tuned for updates. 🤝 With #UNFCCC, Women In Green Hydrogen, Hydrogen Council, H2-diplo - Decarbonization Diplomacy, International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association, International Hydrogen Energy Centre, and other esteemed partners. ❗Please note, that in order to access our events, visitors require blue zone badges. ❇ #UNIDOatCOP #ClimateAction #sustainabledevelopment #cleanhydrogen #UNIDOhydrogen

On Tuesday I represented President Ursula von der Leyen at the leaders’ session of COP29 Azerbaijan. This two-day official opening of the Conference is the moment when heads of state and government deliver their opening statements. It is also the moment when many partners come together to make new announcements. This time, we focussed our announcements on the clean energy transitions, following upon the positive outcome of last year’s COP28. At COP28 we made historic commitments: tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. This is not just a target but the best investment we can make. Renewable energy is homegrown, it creates jobs, it strengthens our independence, and it is cheaper than its dirtier alternatives. In 2023 the EU reduced emissions by 8%, thanks to a rapid expansion of renewables. Already today, over half of Europe’s electricity comes from wind and solar, surpassing all fossil fuels. But globally, emissions still rose by 1.3% last year. This is our common challenge, and why we wanted to demonstrate our successes, and share the example with other countries. Now we must accelerate, multiplying clean energy investments and projects on every continent. I also announced the EU Methane Abatement Partnership Roadmap – to bring down the carbon footprint of gas imports and exports - and joined a high-level event of the Climate Club, which is an important initiative led by Chile and Germany - where ambitious countries discuss concrete ideas to decarbonise their economies. Together, these initiatives will help build a clean and competitive economy for Europe, and shape a stronger, more resilient global climate framework. I also had good discussions with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and a range of leaders on how to find a landing zone on the climate finance negotiations during the COP. The rest of this week will focus on the technical negotiations to advance with the different texts that we will need to adopt at the end of the COP. Good luck to the EU team, and I’m looking forward to picking up the baton and supporting them again next week! #EUatCOP29

Nice speech....but he forgot to mention the importance of Industrial Carbon Management 🤭 I thought this was where he was going when he said: "Yet if you take a more global look you will find emissions still rose by 1.3% last year.  It shows where our common challenge is. " It does indeed show where the challenge is: fossil fuel emissions. Ideally we can reduce them by quickly growing renewables and improving efficiency. But clearly that is not going fast enough and we are already running into limits in some EU countries (grids, costs, etc). We need to stop pretending that we can phase out fossil fuels fast enough. Of course we need to keep pushing on all these things Wopke Hoekstra mentions in his speech. But we ALSO have to start reducing emissions of the fossil fuels we still use. Not only methane, but also CO2. EU did a good job catching up recently with the industrial carbon management strategy and the 50 Mt target in the NZIA. But we are recovering and storing less than 1% of all the fossil carbon we still use in Europe. In 2050 that has to be 100%. That is not going to happen if we don't make it happen! we need policies, regulations, incentives for scaling up CCS and CDR more rapidly, in the same way that we needed them (and still need them) for renewables, batteries, grids, etc. And we need the EU to talk about the importance of this at COPs, so that other countries and regions will also start working on this and including targets in their NDCs. It is not EITHER-OR but AND-AND: grow renewables further (reducing fossil fuel demand and use) AND gradually reduce the carbon footprint of remaining fossil fuel use to net zero. Let's be honest, the transition may take more time than we hoped, and then it becomes more important still that we reduce the emissions from fossil fuel use by ramping up CCS and CDR. Tom Berendsen Henri Bontenbal Silvio Erkens Bram Cool

Join us on 16 November #COP29! To date, the enabling power of energy efficiency improvements has largely been overlooked when financing the energy transition. COP28 catalysed commitments on the energy package including the target for doubling the rate of improvements of global energy efficiency by 2030. Organised by the High-Level Climate Champions in partnership with the African Energy Commission of the African Union (AFREC) and the Latin America Energy Organization (OLADE - Organización Latinoamericana de Energía), this high-level, multi-stakeholder and implementation-focused session will show how the Global South can drive energy efficiency improvements through policy and market-based approaches articulated around regional leadership that creates the enabling environment for investments. Hear from the African Union, the COP28 UAE Presidency, financial institutions (African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank (ADB)), businesses (#CompanhiaEnergéticadeMinasGerais), programs (Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), development and research partners (International Copper Association, KAPSARC, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)) about new energy efficiency initiatives from different regions in the Global South that build on existing efforts, enhancing implementation and cooperation toward the COP28 target for doubling the rate of improvements of global energy efficiency by 2030. Announcements will be made! State of Green Denmark

🇺🇳🇦🇿COP29 Azerbaijan - Same procedure as every year❓ 🫵 There is something special about this year’s COP in Baku: G20 Brasil 2024 discussed in parallel 🇧🇷, USA 🇺🇸 announced to step out 🔜 of the process and previous COP28 UAE in Dubai 🇺🇳🇦🇪 needed a concrete follow-up. ⁉️ So the big question was: will multilateralism have a chance to come to concrete results relevant for our climate and the geopolitical future? Five main takeaways: 1️⃣ The tripling of renewables, the doubling of energy efficiency were concretely discussed and followed up. The renewable pledge stays a priority of both COP and G20 👍. Climate policy and clean tech have become geopolitical - whatever the US 🇺🇸 decides to do after January 25. 2️⃣ Going for more #electricity will yield five ✋ times as many electrons as our grids can carry globally. We need to earmark concrete investments into #storage and #infrastructure. The funds should be directed to special programs for grid investments including #pipes and #ports for #hydrogen and its derivatives. 3️⃣ Hydrogen is an enabler of that transition, offering seasonal storage and cheap possibilities to transport renewable energy. This was acknowledged by the "Hydrogen Declaration“ issued in Baku. Green ammonia leading to sustainable fertilisers will definitely be one global off taker that can play this role combatting global hunger at the same time. 🌎🌍🌏 4️⃣ Energy demand will continiously grow due to the prominent role that AI 🛜 . Data Centers will consume up to a quarter of more electricity in the next decade causing considerable challenges. Off-grid solutions will play an important role in the future energy system. Concrete investments into higher energy demand should be coupled with dedicated investments into „Hydrogenewables“. 5️⃣ Interesting to see that Brasil 🇧🇷, India 🇮🇳 and Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 have started with tangible hydrogen strategies and investments especially into green ammonia as the lowest hanging fruit for the transport and use of green hydrogen. They need the EU 🇪🇺 as biggest off-taker. Europe needs to adapt the definition of imported green hydrogen (get rid of bidding zone requirement❗️) and streamline EU agricultural funds (round 40% of EU budget❗️). ➡️ We need to come from ambition to concrete process and progress. Two very concrete proposals to work upon leading to a massive abatement of CO2 emissions: 1️⃣ Global food action needs to be aligned with climate goals. Fertilisers are mentioned in the G20 conclusions as an important pathway and can be greened by using green hydrogen. An action plan could be ready until 🇺🇳🇧🇷 COP30 in Belem also based on article 16 of the G20 conclusions from Rio. 2️⃣ Globally refineries could switch to carbon neutral hydrogen in order to reduce CO2 emissions. A 25% share of green hydrogen would massively contribute to fast and concrete results. A 🇺🇳 United Nations agreement would create a level playing field for the industry.

🌍 Energy talk at #COP29: “Azerbaijan and Germany – Partners of the Global Energy Transition” Our CEO, Dr. Egbert Laege, joined today in Baku Zaur Gurbanov, Vitaly Beylarbeyov (SOCAR) and Carsten Poppinga for an insightful discussion moderated by Dr. Friedbert Pflüger on the growing #partnership between #Azerbaijan and #Germany in advancing the global #energytransition. Dr. Egbert Laege emphasises: “#Decarbonization is the topic of the century. Our role is to make it happen by offering our customers #flexible, #innovative and #affordable solutions.” #SecuringEnergy #EnergyTransition #SEFE #LowCarbonEconomy #SustainableEnergy  #COP29 #BAKU

*COP29: Day 6* (16 Nov 2024) Today, COP29 saw over 1,000 endorsements for the COP29 Green Digital Declaration. This milestone brings together leaders from the private sector, NGOs, civil society, and governments in leveraging digital innovation for Climate Action, calling for sector-wide collaboration to accelerate climate-positive digitalisation, improve energy efficiency, and promote inclusive digital access, especially in developing countries. Furthermore, utilities pledge to boost grids & storage in strong Implementation signal. The powerful global community of 45 utilities & power sector suppliers under UNEZA , reinforced their commitment to annual grids & renewables investment of more than $117bn, driving the path to Net Zero energy. In another front, Members of Alliance for Industry Decarbonization enhanced a collective commitment of reducing GHG direct emissions by 54% as part of 2030 targets. We have less than 6 years to triple renewables towards 11.2 TW by 2030. Only by closing the current gaps needed to achieve the global energy targets we can keep the 1.5°C goal within reach. Tomorrow I share thoughts around positions Africa should be taking at COP29!!

🌍💡 A New Milestone for Clean Energy at COP29 💡🌍 As #COP29 concluded in Baku with a landmark agreement on finance, the collective effort to drive climate action took a bold step forward. On November 14, during COP29 Finance, Investment and Trade Day, 12 Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)—spanning international and national levels—united to pledge their support for the 10 GW Lighthouse Initiative ( https://rb.gy/6iiblf). This transformative initiative aims to bring renewable hydrogen projects of 100 MW to 1 GW to Final Investment Decision (FID) by 2030 in Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs). It's a pivotal contribution to the COP-centered Breakthrough Agenda, championing international collaboration to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions, like hydrogen, affordable, accessible, and attractive for all regions and sectors by 2030. This commitment underscores the essential role of public and private sectors in accelerating the green transition and empowering EMDCs to lead the charge toward a net-zero future. Together, we're fueling the path toward a clean tomorrow.   👉Read the press release: https://rb.gy/6iiblf   The World Bank Group, #ESMAP, European Central Bank, African Development Bank Group, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, KfW, Inter-American Development Bank, CDP, Caf, Invest International, H2Global Foundation

Reflections on COP29: Paving the Path to a Sustainable Future The recently concluded COP29 Azerbaijan Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, underscored the growing urgency to address climate change through collaboration, innovation, and decisive action. Here are the key highlights and learnings that resonate deeply: 1️⃣ Climate Finance Gains Momentum: The World Bank and partners have set a transformative goal of $120 billion in climate finance by 2030—a 60% increase from previous commitments. This bold move has the potential to make climate finance more accessible and equitable for vulnerable nations. 2️⃣ Sustainability Driving Business Strategies: More companies in India are embracing sustainability as a core business strategy. Prioritizing green practices is not only reducing environmental footprints but also building long-term value for stakeholders. 3️⃣ Decarbonizing Manufacturing: With India’s coal consumption in manufacturing posing a challenge to sustainability, transitioning to cleaner energy solutions is critical. This sector’s transformation will significantly contribute to achieving our climate goals. 4️⃣ Empowering Developing Nations: The summit spotlighted the Global South’s priorities, including equitable climate finance frameworks, green energy transitions, and methane diplomacy. For nations like India, this is a pivotal moment to secure resources and partnerships for sustainable development. 5️⃣ Why COP29 Matters: Every step taken, big or small, contributes to the global climate movement. The discussions at COP29 reinforce the importance of collaboration among governments, businesses, and individuals to accelerate climate action. The Road Ahead: From green finance to renewable energy, and decarbonization to sustainable innovation, it’s clear that a united global effort is key to achieving net-zero goals and a resilient future. Let’s continue to work together toward a greener tomorrow! What are your thoughts on the outcomes of COP29? Share your perspectives in the comments! #COP29 #ClimateAction #GreenFinance #Sustainability #Decarbonization #RenewableEnergy #GlobalSouth #NetZero #ClimateChange #GreenerTogether Isabelle Patrier World Economic Forum International Solar Alliance Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH COP29 Azerbaijan International Labour Organization Relience Adani Group #bondadagroup bp Total Energy Corp S&P Global World Hydrogen Leaders Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Indian Institute of Management Bangalore United Nations UNFCCC-WGEO Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) MENA and SA UNIDO #sdg ReNew TotalEnergies Renewable Solutions Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | U.S. Department of Energy linkdin Asian Development Bank (ADB) Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference and Exhibition Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF-SO) ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference