| December 11th, 2024 | Publications

Despite coming off a record-breaking year of global temperatures, COP29 was not a game-changer and lacked bold ambitions. Still, it moved the needle forward on key issues such as financing and carbon credits. Oceans and blue forests were a topic of discussion. However, they weren’t the “hot topic” that they were at COP27.

© COP29

I had the opportunity to attend the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29). Coming off a year of record-breaking ocean temperatures, extreme marine heatwaves, and cyclones, I had hoped for bold action and a sense of urgency. While my expectations – like many others’ – were not met, there was some progress. This blog summarises the key take-aways, from a blue forests perspective.

The ‘Finance COP’

This year’s COP was dubbed the ‘Finance COP’ as a key objective was to reach a new agreement on how much money developed countries should provide developing countries to help them fight and adapt to climate change. Both in the run-up to COP, and throughout the negotiations, there were major differences in opinion regarding what the target should be, and who should be responsible for paying. In the end, the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) was announced. The deal includes 300 billion USD per year for developing countries by 2035, with developed countries such as Norway “taking the lead” in providing this funding. The compromise is far less than the 1.3 trillion USD requested, but higher than the previous target of 100 billion USD per year.

Carbon credit clarity

Carbon market standards were also agreed to, under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. After years of failing to reach a deal, rules are now in place for how countries can create, trade and register emission reduction and removal efforts as carbon credits. These credits can help countries and communities finance nature conservation and restoration efforts. However, carbon credits have come under considerable scrutiny due to a range of issues, including lack of transparency, additionality and benefit-sharing.

At a carbon market panel, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment’s Senior Adviser Malin Meyer announced that Norway has committed $50 million to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Climate Action Catalyst Fund (CACF). A key purpose of the Fund is to help develop the next generation of international carbon markets.

Carbon credit quality

Forest Pavillion event ‘Advancing Sustainable Development and Nature-Positive Outcomes through High-Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets’. Photo by Karen Filbee-Dexter.

Throughout COP29, there was a clear transformation in the language around carbon credits and a strong focus on high integrity (one tonne of credit must equal one tonne removed) and high-quality credits (aka the action is also good for biodiversity, clean water, and underprivileged communities). The need for a high integrity carbon market has been a key discussion point in the emerging blue carbon market these past few years.

Updated national climate plans

The next round of updates to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are due by February 2025. According to the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, these plans “are the most important policy documents of this century […] because they will be the final barricade for every nation in its fight-to-the-death against climate impacts getting more brutal each year.” Some countries have already submitted their revisions. For them, COP29 was an opportunity to showcase their plans.

Seagrass, mangroves and saltmarshes can be included in NDCs under the IPCC Wetlands Supplement. Whilst 151 countries have at least one of these blue carbon ecosystems, not all included blue forests in their previous NDCs. Of those that did, the focus on blue forests vary in terms of actionability and ambition. To encourage a greater focus on blue carbon ecosystems in the coming NDCs, Seychelles organised a panel on Blue Carbon Ecosystems in NDCs. Similarly, the UK organised an event on Translating Ocean-Climate Ambition into Action.

Climate change and biodiversity loss interlinked 

A key theme throughout COP29 was the need to view and solve climate change and biodiversity loss as interlinked global crises. This was a prominent theme at the last few COPs as well. During the SDG Pavilion and Forest Pavilion session ‘Mobilizing finance for climate and biodiversity in primary forests,’ the Deputy Director General of IUCN, Stewart Maginnis, described how biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation are becoming more and more integrated. However, as he pointed out, the finance mechanisms are not yet integrated. A key next step is therefore to develop funding mechanisms that support both carbon and biodiversity benefits.

Oceans and blue forests at COP29             

The ocean was lumped into the day 11 theme ‘Nature & Biodiversity, Indigenous People, Gender Equality, Oceans and Coastal Zones.’ Focus on the ocean was most prominent in the ocean pavilion, as well as the pavilion dedicated to the science of climate change. However, overall, the ocean was missing from most COP29 discussions, frameworks, examples, and speeches. When the ocean was mentioned, it was largely in the context of blue carbon. This is both a barrier and an opportunity.

I spoke in the Madagascar Pavilion panel on ‘Blue Carbon Beyond Mangroves: Emerging Solutions in the Marine Landscape.’ During the discussion, we confirmed the growing interest in expanding blue carbon projects to include seagrass meadows and seaweed forests. We also discussed how blue forests qualify as high-quality credits because of their importance for biodiversity. At the same time, seaweed forests are not yet considered ‘actionable’ blue carbon ecosystem because of the difficulty in measuring how much of the carbon they sequester is stored long-term. New research is being produced each year to fill this knowledge gap but, for now, financing seaweed forest restoration based on the price of carbon is challenging.

Pieces of seaweed forests break off and make their way to the ocean floor where the carbon they contain can be locked away for centuries. Photo by Karen Filbee-Dexter.

COP: An imperfect but essential forum   

As COP29 came to an end, there was a palpable disappointment amongst many representatives and observers. I worry that the actions agreed to are too little and will be too late due to the spirit of compromise. But there were also positive steps made – including on financing and carbon credits – and promising announcements from several countries. The UK and Brazil, for example, announced plans to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. The booming green energy sector, with financing expected to exceed USD 2 trillion for the first time this year, also has the potential to help transform our society.

Either way, COP is our life raft through these difficult times ahead. The question is not whether we will make the needed changes and transformations to reduce emissions. We must do these things. The question is how long it will take us and whether it will be in time to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.