Yazid S. Mikail’s Post

🔔 "The world needs a successful #COP29, with strong commitments on #emission reductions, adaptation and #ClimateFinance" ~ stressed UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean in her video message to the briefing for United Nations Member States and #civilsociety ⤵️ The briefing was co-organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and COP29 Azerbaijan Presidency at the United Nations Office at Geneva. The briefing presented COP29 Global Initiatives and shared updates on COP29 preparations. UN Climate Change also outlined key priorities for negotiations. The Executive Secretary further highlighted that many UNECE norms, standards and conventions provide practical tools to support countries’ climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, to leverage financing, and to strengthen collaboration.  These resources can help ensure a just and resilient #energy transition, to decarbonize #transport, to strengthen cross-border #water cooperation, and harness #forests for climate action, among many other areas. #ClimateAction Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Daniele Violetti Dmitry Mariyasin Galib Israfilov Dario Liguti Geneva Environment Network Delegation of the European Union to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in Geneva Germany in the UN Burak Akçapar Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN, WTO in Geneva Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Yerlan Alimbayev Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations - New York Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations Jérôme Bonnafont Représentation permanente de la France auprès de l'ONU à Genève Simon Manley Vladimir Cuc

🗓️ As #COP29 wrapped up, the decision on the #COP31 host was deferred to the upcoming intersessional meetings in Bonn this June. One key question we’re asking: will mounting criticism of recent COP hosts and sharp critiques from experts influence the outcome? 👥 Meanwhile, the Troika of COP28-30 Presidencies remains in place—touted as a reset for global climate action. But will it live up to expectations? Much depends on whether early 2025 delivers a meaningful boost in ambition and concrete action. 💬 As discussions heat up, key questions linger: Can transparency and trust in climate leadership be restored? And how will the politics of presidency impact the path to a sustainable future? Our latest paper on the topic dives deep into the evolving dynamics of international climate diplomacy, with a special focus on Azerbaijan's contentious presidency. We’d love to hear your thoughts! 💬 👉 Check out the full paper: https://lnkd.in/gBYnDFVd #COP29 #COP31

In September, Dan Helmeci and I co-authored "COP29: Pacifying or Platforming Fossil Fuels?" for Internationale Politik Quarterly. Given that the world's largest climate conference is being hosted in a petrostate for the second consecutive year, we asked: can Azerbaijan be trusted to chart a path towards sustainability or will it leverage this opportunity to promote their domestic fossil fuel industry? Today, we got our answer. It cannot. The BBC just reported that COP29's chief executive Elnur Soltanov offered to arrange meetings with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) to discuss "gas fields that are to be developed." This is not surprising given that former COP28 President Al-Jaber also exploited last year's negotiations to advance UAE fossil fuel interests. Petrostates have consistently demonstrated an inability to host high stakes conferences as their conflicts of interest pollute negotiations and undermine UNFCCC legitimacy. Azerbaijan's flagrant disregard for the seminal principles of COP and their active promotion of fossil fuels does not bode well for the future of international climate diplomacy. COP29 starts on Monday. We better be watching. Read our piece exploring the geopolitics of Azerbaijan's selection here: https://lnkd.in/e5DKHX8d BBC Reporting: https://lnkd.in/ezpxNfrF

🌍 This week's COP29 Azerbaijan has been labelled a "COP of peace" (with a focus on the prevention of future climate-fuelled conflicts and the healing of existing ones) by organisers 🌎 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dQUbW5vh At a time when there is the highest number of countries engaged in conflict since World War II, many of the countries most susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change are also experiencing – or facing risks of – violent conflict. 🕊️ Peacemaking efforts across the world are facing increasing barriers, and the intersection of climate and conflict has not been met with viable solutions to navigate these challenges. While waiting for the outcomes of the labelled COP of peace, several questions come to mind from an Inclusive Peace perspective: 🌱 What does "inclusion" mean in the context of climate change, and the crisis facing peacemaking as we know it? 🌱 Research shows how the relationship between climate and conflict is complex and varies across contexts. How might extreme climatic conditions affect the risk and/or course of armed conflict across contexts in the future? 🌱 What are the specific mechanisms via which more extreme climatic conditions exacerbate the risk of armed conflict in different contexts? 🌱Under conditions of increasing climate change, how can questions of climate and environment be integrated into peacemaking efforts going forward? Drawing on the work of Elinor Ostrom - the first woman to receive the The Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009 - how could future peacemaking efforts in contexts affected by extreme climatic conditions build on and learn from existing effective mechanisms at the community level for managing finite natural resources? 🌱 Apart from major instances of armed conflict, what political and social challenges do increasingly harsh climatic conditions create for communities in their everyday life across contexts? 🌱 How can international organisations support climate-resilient local practices that address resource scarcity in regions that lack strong governance and inclusive institutions? 🌱 How can local communities help mitigate tensions over food insecurity that arise due to the influx of climate-displaced populations into hosting regions? 🌱 Climate change-related displacement and migration are often framed as security issues. What are the implications of this perspective for local policy and humanitarian responses? As the world looks to Baku this week, it is critical to think through ways to address these questions. The majority of ongoing conflicts - from #Sudan to #Myanmar, from #Ethiopia to the #Sahel  – have climate-related factors that either contribute to or are exacerbated by ongoing violence. What do you think about these questions? #COP29 #Baku #ClimatePeaceNexus #Peacemaking #Geopolitics #Conflict

⏳ In one month #COP29 will kick off in Azerbaijan, a petrostate ranked as one of the world’s least free countries.   🧐 Can it still present a meaningful opportunity to deliver on urgently-needed climate action or is it destined to fall short?   🌡️ With the global climate crisis accelerating every day, the stakes couldn’t be higher. For the UN climate process to maintain its credibility, COP29 must deliver real, impactful outcomes. But with a host nation whose interests are so closely aligned with the fossil fuel industry, and whose crackdown on much-needed climate activists shows no sign of abating in the run up to the global summit, can we expect the bold steps needed to address the climate emergency?   In our latest article, we examine the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for #COP and UN climate diplomacy 👇 #ClimateAction #SupportEnvDefenders

4/6 On #Peace, Relief and Recovery Day #COP29 in Baku, what does a 'COP of Peace' or 'Truce COP' mean for the host, #Azerbaijan? In September 2023, Azerbaijan regained the Mountainous Karabakh region militarily, following a nine-month blockade of the Karabakh Armenians’ access to #Armenia. "While both sides say a peace agreement is in the offing, critical issues have been dropped, and prospects for resolution of these issues are uncertain." write Lubica Pollakova and Ruth Townend Could the COP help usher in a long term peace? Read the excellent chapter by Laurence Broers in our report, which argues that: "the COP29 opportunity should be used by Azerbaijan and Armenia to agree a new basket of bilateral confidence-building measures addressing some of the many environmental issues, such as conservation, pollution and water resource management, that by nature are beyond unilateral solutions. Embedding the incremental nature of such confidence-building packages into the process can gradually widen the field of Armenian-Azerbaijani strategic interactions beyond their antagonistic militarized dimensions, and build a basis for eventual agreement on other substantive issues that remain contentious." #conflictresolution #SouthCaucasus #environment #peacebuilding #climaterisks

As I told the Guardian Australia wearing my Smart Energy Council hat, we know that when Australian diplomacy seeks to achieve big and important things, it has the power to deliver. And that when the likes of the UK, France or Peru take on the mantle of global leadership in hosting a COP, they also deliver the best outcomes for the planet. In a similar vein, we know hosting a COP will help to focus Australia’s transition to a decarbonized economy and a clean energy export superpower. Australia is working hard to land its bid to host the COP31 Climate Conference in the days ahead. Great to be in the good company of Palau’s President Surangel Whipps, former COP President Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, and fellow Australian climate diplomacy agitator Dean Bialek in helping make the case in Adam Morton’s coverage. As is also highlighted, Pacific leaders are eager to make COP31 a success by working in partnership with Australia. And a COP hasn’t been held in the southern hemisphere for over a decade. Leaving #COP29 in Baku tonight after a great few days meeting grantees and partners with the Pooled fund on International Energy. And trying to kick along Australia’s bid in the margins - all to help deliver ambitious climate and energy outcomes for the planet.

On the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations COP29 Azerbaijan, African Union ECOSOCC is hosting a dedicated webinar to present the ‘Civil Society Roadmap to COP29’! The webinar will offer insights for African countries on how to leverage the achievements of #COP28, and, most importantly, formulate proposals for addressing the continent’s specific climate challenges and establishing strategic priorities for #COP29. 🗓️ 18th November, 2024
 🕒 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM (CAT)
 📍 Zoom OBJECTIVES: ●      To launch the CSO Roadmap to equip African policymakers and CSOs with a practical framework that strengthens Africa’s unified voice at COP29. ●      To bridge the gap between policy and action by providing African leaders with the tools to create meaningful and lasting change for a resilient and sustainable future in response to climate challenges. The registration link will be shared shortly! Stay engaged for further updates. #ClimateAction #Azerbaijan #COP29Azerbaijan

https://wp.me/p8cDQ4-dOP Pact for the Future to Transform Global Governance The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted the ambitious Pact for the Future during the Summit of the Future in New York. The culmination of more than a year of negotiations under the stewardship of Germany and Namibia, the pact is expected to bolster multilateralism for a safer, prosperous and equitable world.  Rituraj Phukan Kakali Das Padmaza Talukdar Kaustabh Baruah Sanjeev Sarma Nandini Parikh Chinmoyee Deka Isha S. Diku M Hazarika Matsilo Nkabane 🇱🇸🇱🇸 Neema Gobah Justus Wanjohi Justin Salani Esther Nzubechi Claudia Laricchia #UnitedNations #SummitOfTheFuture #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateJustice #UNFCCC Jusica Muni #Cop29Azerbaijan #Cop29Baku #Cop29 #GlobalWarming #TheThirdPole #Mahabahu #PeoplesSecretariatForClimateJustice

At #COP29 countries will continue to flesh out the details of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) through the development of indicators to track their implementation. Luckson Zvobgo explains why they matter and what Africa’s priorities are for their development. https://lnkd.in/eQG_35ez