Witnessing global climate negotiations firsthand, in Baku, Azerbaijan
By Anne van Berkum
IEFLL Research Fellow
Master Student at University of Iceland
January 2025
In November 2024 I had the opportunity to attended COP29 as an observer through the University of Iceland.
It was an eye-opening experience to witness global climate negotiations firsthand and to learn the process behind them. On top of following the negotiations, I was able to explore the connections between global climate change efforts and my research interests, particularly in urban climates and remote sensing, by attending talks and panels.
As a student in IEFLL, I know how ecological footprint metrics can provide a valuable framework for evaluating humanity’s resource demands against the Earth’s biocapacity. Surprisingly, I found little mention of the ecological footprint during COP29. No panels, talks, or activities explicitly referred to it. While this year’s “finance” COP might not align directly with the methodology, its principles are deeply relevant to the discussions at hand.
One of my highlights of COP29 was the growing recognition of urban areas as critical areas in both mitigating and adapting to climate change. The new IPCC Cycle 7 will include a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, acknowledging cities as both significant contributors to global emissions and key opportunities for innovation and resilience. Urban areas, while occupying a fraction of the Earth’s surface, hold most of the human population. This focus resonates deeply with my research, which uses remote sensing to examine urban biocapacity, so our methodology can reflect the changes in cities around the world as they (hopefully) become greener.
There were also some lowlights, of course. Next to panel discussions and presentations held by environmental NGOs, lobbying groups also had a stage at COP29, hosting talks such as “Agriculture as a Solution to Global Food Security & Climate Change” hosted by Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Beef + Lamb NZ, International Meat Secretariat, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action, and North American Meat Institute. This specific talk focused on how we can genetically modify our livestock to emit less methane and thereby continue to have operations at the current scale (or larger). To me, this way of thinking undermines the spirit of COP by allowing major polluters to shape the narrative, diverting attention from the systemic changes urgently needed to address the climate crisis.
In general, attending COP29 has been a huge learning experience for me. It’s made me think even more about the importance of justice and fairness in addressing the climate crisis.