COP (UN Climate Conference)

Brazil is positioning itself as an important player for multilateralism and international law in global crises and geopolitical upheavals. This raises high hopes for COP30 in November under the Brazilian presidency – but the challenges are also immense.

The danger posed by global climate and environmental crises has been known for decades, but so far it has not been possible to address them effectively and fairly on a global scale. An overview of the most important international climate agreements, how they work, their potential and the challenges they face.

Human rights expert Lotte Leicht explains how the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion reshapes the climate debate: states are legally bound to prevent climate harm. At COP30, states can no longer treat climate action as optional.

The recent ICJ ruling is a landmark decision for the fight against climate change, addressing state responsibility for ambitious, scientifically supported climate action. It also clears the path for potential climate reparations in the future.

Climate governance has been captured by solutions that involve the financialization of nature. The first COP in the Amazon is an opportunity to face the impacts of these projects, betting on the rights and territorial sovereignty of Amazonian populations.

For 29 years, youth groups have been calling for immediate solutions to climate change yet wealthy nations are locked in golden towers counting coins as the world warms up! 

COP29 was expected to deliver a global goal for climate finance that meets the challenges of the future. It failed to do so. Instead, it launched international carbon markets that create new loopholes for fossil fuel emitters.

When the Loss and Damage Fund was created last year, it was hailed as a triumph for climate justice. But it might turn out to be just the opposite, as it not only fails to deliver the support developing countries need to cope with loss and damage, but also provides an excuse not to include such support in new climate-finance goals.

For the Azerbaijani regime, hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku represents a chance to obscure its poor climate record and relentless attacks on civil society.

The sixteenth UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, faced significant challenges and ran overtime due to disagreements between developing and developed countries. A resumed meeting will be required to address these unfinished issues.

The climate crisis affects marginalized communities disproportionately more than others even though they are the least responsible. Reason enough to give them space in the UNFCCC climate negotiations - but the current tendency seems the exact opposite.

The UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, ended in early November with important resolutions, but no agreement on the key issue of financing biodiversity conservation.

UNFCCC negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement risk legitimising dangerous Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) schemes and undermining precautionary work being undertaken in other UN fora.

This article examines the critical issue of public participation in environmental governance in Azerbaijan, focusing on the intricate relationship between environmental procedural rights and political repression, particularly in the context of the country hosting COP29.

Azerbaijan has strengthened its energy ties with the EU since 2022, ramping up gas deliveries and articulating ambitions to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe in the future. However, the EU’s shrinking gas demand and Azerbaijan’s lack of a genuine decarbonization strategy cast uncertainty on the long-term prospects of this partnership.

Developing nations face debt burdens that make climate action unaffordable. Comprehensive reform and targeted debt relief are essential to unlock the climate investments these countries urgently need.

This guide identifies twelve ‘implementation areas’ in forestry, agriculture, land tenure, and other land uses that should be addressed in nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

COP29 in Baku will decide the future of global climate finance. As developing nations demand $1 trillion in annual support, tensions rise over who should contribute and how funds are allocated. Will this summit deliver on the promise of climate justice and equity?

Azerbaijan is the third authoritarian and repressive petro state in a row to host the COP presidency. The most important issues on the COP29 agenda: the new global goal on climate finance (NCQG) and the negotiations on carbon markets - and for both is true: the climate crisis is a matter of global justice.

The new Loss and Damage Fund (FRLD) aims to support climate-vulnerable countries against escalating damages. Despite meeting setup milestones, key questions on funding scale, the operational model, and access policies remain unresolved. Can the FRLD truly deliver?