Baku’s Climate Pulse: Key Events from COP29’s Fifth and Sixth Day

Friday, 15 November, was the fifth day at the 29th meeting of the United Nations Climate Summit (COP29) in the windy City of Baku in Azerbaijan, and it was themed Energy/Peace, Relief and Recovery day.

To mark this day, high-level delegations, climate activists and advocates attending the conference hosted several events across pavilions and meeting rooms amidst ongoing efforts to achieve just energy transition and foster peace across climate vulnerable countries globally.

This came against the backdrop of strong commitments that aim at “building a strong foundation to measure progress, and foster a sense of shared responsibility and urgency across all sectors of society,” the COP29 organisers noted.

Throughout the day, several initiatives and pledges aimed at scaling up renewable energies and low-carbon technologies were endorsed by delegates and party members.

However, there are lingering concerns about the ongoing climate negotiations amidst perceived geopolitics and slow-paced decisions on climate action. This pushed some climate activists and leaders at the COP venue to call negotiators to “Yasunize” fossil fuel (leave fossil fuel in the ground).

Key initiatives launched

On the energy thematic day, the COP29 presidency officially launched three Energy Initiatives, calling for endorsements for the COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge.

According to the organisers, the endorsers commit to a collective goal of deploying 1,500 GW of energy storage globally by 2030. This, they say, is more than six times the capacity of 2022. It also includes a commitment to add or refurbish 25 million kilometres of grids globally by 2030, recognising the need to add or refurbish an additional 65 million kilometres by 2040.

The COP29 Green Energy Pledge

The COP hosts said endorsers commit to promoting green energy zones and corridors, which would connect sources of abundant green energy generation with the communities most in need by developing larger intraregional and interregional interconnected power grids.

The COP29 Hydrogen Declaration

Also, organisers said endorsers commit to scaling up renewable, clean/zero-emission and low-carbon hydrogen production and accelerate the decarbonisation of existing hydrogen production from unabated fossil fuels.

They said these are aimed at significantly increasing green hydrogen production from 1 million tonnes annually and reducing the 96 Mt of hydrogen currently produced from unabated fossil fuels.

Conflict and humanitarian needs through

The COP29 presidency hinted that the Energy thematic day also addresses the crucial nexus of climate change by unveiling “The COP Truce Appeal.”

Organisers said this symbolises the role of cooperation and peace as indispensable components of global climate action.

“132 countries have joined the Appeal, which is supported by over a thousand international institutions, private sector representatives, civil society organisations and influential public figures,” the COP29 presidency said.

Similarly, the presidency, in collaboration with Egypt, Italy, Germany, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, launched the Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief, and Recovery.

This was described as a milestone initiative aimed at addressing the urgent nexus of climate change, conflict, and humanitarian needs.

Science, Technology, Innovation and Digitalisation Day

Saturday, 16 November, was tagged the Science and Technology/Digitalisation Day at COP in Baku, and it was the first of its kind in the history of COP meetings.

On the day, the COP29 presidency hosted the first Digitalisation Day in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC), reflecting the critical role of technology in addressing the lingering climate crisis .

At a High-Level Roundtable on Green Digital Action, the COP29 Green Digital Declaration was announced. It addresses the challenges and opportunities in harnessing technology for climate action, organisers said.

They noted that the Declaration builds on efforts launched at COP28 in Dubai last year by ITU and over 40 partners.

At the inaugural digitalisation meeting, the COP Presidency launched the COP29 Green Digital Declaration, with endorsements from more than 90 governments and over 1,000 members of the digital tech community.

According to the COP presidency, the declaration will focus on leveraging digital tools for climate action and using digital technology to drive energy efficiency, enhance data-driven decision-making, and support sustainable consumer practices.

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It is also meant to address the environmental impacts of digitalisation by tackling the environmental footprint of digital expansion, including energy consumption, material use, and e-waste from digital infrastructure.

Similarly, it is to promote digital inclusion and accessibility, where parties are to ensure digital solutions are accessible to all, bridging divides and fostering equitable climate resilience.

This report is published as part of COP29 Reporting Fellowship of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development.