COP29 Dispatch

What Congress Needs to Know from Baku

Welcome! Today is energy day at COP29.

COP29 is rapidly approaching the end of the first week of negotiations. Technical work usually concludes on the Saturday of the middle weekend, and unresolved issues are elevated to the ministerial level for political negotiations during week two. EESI will be back in your inbox on Monday with a weekend edition of COP29 Dispatch to catch you up on where things stand. To skim for today’s thematic focus area of energy, check out the orange text throughout this newsletter.

U.S. leaders from across the country are making the rounds at the venue. At EESI’s press conference on U.S. perspectives from COP29, Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain made clear, "In Maryland, we are not waiting for anyone to make [climate action] happen for us."

EESI’s press conference (left to right): EESI President Daniel Bresette, Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain, California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot, Mayor Melisa Logan of Blytheville, Arkansas, and Climate Central Chief Meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky. Credit: EESI

Today also marks the third-year anniversary of the enactment of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and U.S. leaders—from community leaders to mayors to governors to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm—took to the COP soapbox to showcase the law’s benefits to the climate and economy.

Detailed highlight notes are now available for EESI’s pre-COP briefing series, What Congress Needs to Know About COP29. You can review all the most vital information from our three panels: What’s on the Table for the Negotiations, Methane Mitigation on the Global Stage, and U.S.-China Engagement and International Climate Diplomacy.

If you are in Baku, catch up with EESI President Daniel Bresette and Policy Director Anna McGinn! To connect, email Anna at [email protected].

Come visit us at Exhibit Booth 23 in Area B of the Blue Zone—Saturday, November 16, is our final day with the booth.

Missed yesterday’s edition? Check it out here. We are also compiling key COP29 announcements throughout the conference—check back for updates.

Getting lost in the COP lingo? Check out EESI's glossary of terms and other helpful guides in the Resources section! Looking for more information? Reach out to Anna at [email protected].

COMING UP

EESI’s official UNFCCC side event is on Tuesday, November 19. Join us (in person only) to learn about the Impacts of Growing Wildfire-related Emissions on the Global Carbon Budget, the +1.5 Limit, and the Next NDCs.

Key Takeaways for Congress

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) introduced the Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act (H.R.10117) to shield the economy from climate-harming foreign actors. (Congress at COP29)
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm sent a message to other developed countries: do not interpret the results of the U.S. federal election as a signal to walk back your own climate commitments; rather, step up and fill the gap. (U.S. Updates)
The UN Environment Programme launched its An Eye on Methane report and data platform. (Around the World)

Negotiations

The negotiating group G-77 and China huddles during a session on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance. Credit: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

Lots of huddles: Negotiations seem to be tough on almost every topic. In a meeting today with observers, the COP29 presidency was essentially only able to report that negotiations are ongoing across the board. It is likely that tomorrow or Monday the presidency will outline a plan to guide COP29 to its conclusion. For additional updates on the negotiations, see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s daily report (detailed summary) and highlights (quick overview) posted each morning of COP.
- EESI briefing: What’s on the Table for the Negotiations

Leveling the financial playing field: The Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries group (LDCs) conducted a joint press conference today to highlight their current negotiating positions on finance and adaptation. On finance, they shared that they want a minimum allocation of $39 billion per year for small island states and $220 billion per year for LDCs in grant-equivalent terms in the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG). They emphasized that this must be part of the provisional finance goal, not the mobilization goal that includes private investment.

Article 6.4 updates: Despite an initial announcement during the opening plenary that countries finalized an agreement on the carbon trading elements of Article 6 on Monday night, there are currently two draft negotiating texts in circulation.

Congress at COP29

Delegates arriving at the COP29 venue in Baku. Credit: EESI

Senate delegation: Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) are planning to be at the COP29 venue tomorrow. They will tackle a wide variety of issues, including sea level rise, trade, methane, corporate accountability, and global liquified natural gas exports. Check out our weekend edition of COP29 Dispatch on Monday to read all about the Congressional delegation’s work in Baku.

U.S. bill would bolster global climate action: Back in Washington, D.C., Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) introduced the Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act (H.R.10117), which would restrict access to the U.S. financial system for foreign actors connected to destructive climate actions. It would also increase human rights protections for environmental defenders around the world. Rep. Escobar said in a statement, “As the Biden Administration and Congress continue pushing progress at home, it is imperative that we also ensure we have strong foreign policy tools to hold accountable bad foreign actors who engage in reckless behaviors that exacerbate this existential threat.”

U.S. Updates

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at the center of a friendly scrum during the signing ceremony for the U.S.-Romania nuclear energy memorandum of understanding. Credit: EESI

Don’t stop me now: Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm answered questions on the clean energy goals of the current and upcoming administrations. She discussed increasing nuclear energy production, which currently represents 19% of U.S. energy, emphasizing that the country cannot achieve its climate goals without it. Looking to the next administration, she noted that a rollback of electric vehicle (EV) tax credits and EV deployment would be “so counterproductive” and would cede competitiveness to countries like China. Granholm expressed hope in Republican members of Congress who have touted the benefits of EV tax credits in their states. The Secretary closed with a message to other developed countries: do not interpret U.S. election results as a signal to walk back your own climate commitments. Instead, she said, step up and fill the gap.

Subnational ambition to action: At an America Is All In event, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee delivered his “one message” to COP29: “Donald Trump cannot stop the clean energy transformation that we are pushing through in our states.” Speakers from the state governments of Maryland, California, New Mexico, and Tennessee took an ambitious and optimistic perspective in highlighting their past and future work on topics like zero-carbon energy, cap and trade, clean school buses, and environmental justice.
- EESI resource: Climate Solutions by State Map

Environmental justice, from communities to COP: At a panel of U.S. environmental justice leaders, Cheryl Kwapong of the Chisholm Legacy Project called for increased pathways to connect marginalized groups with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 resources. West Sacramento City, California, Mayor Martha Guerrero joined the panel to highlight the IIJA’s environmental justice benefits in her city, such as federal funding for a streetcar, for a rideshare program, and for flood protection. Panelists also discussed the high barriers to access that environmental justice leaders have experienced at COP. “If you are not present, you are not considered and thought of.” And if you do attend this “grand ball of climate,” one speaker warned, you have to know about decorum and the unspoken politics and social rules of engagement before you can even sit down to have productive conversations.
- EESI topic page: Environmental Justice

Networking for a working grid: An America Is All In event co-hosted with the Clean Energy Buyers Association convened experts from the utility and private sectors for a discussion on building a power grid that can support net-zero goals. National Grid is investing $76 billion in energy infrastructure over the next five years, divided between the U.S. and the UK. Differences in project planning on opposite sides of the pond have shown that the UK’s central strategic network is ideal for the effective deployment of clean electricity, while U.S. planning confronts unique challenges due to shorter time horizons, lack of long-term certainty, and supply chain constraints.
- EESI article: “Driven to Be More Energy Efficient, Distribution Transformers Are More than Meets the Eye”

Zooming in: Subnational leaders gathered at the U.S. Center to discuss investments in their cities and states. Secretary Granholm kicked off the event with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) updates—most notably, 80% of IRA investments and 57% of IRA-catalyzed jobs to date have gone to Republican-majority states and counties. At the state level, California’s Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia discussed $1 billion in federal funding to decarbonize seven of California’s ports, and a $500 million federal award for air pollution reduction in the state’s South Coast Air Basin. Blytheville, Arkansas, Mayor Melisa Logan touted a partnership with Ducks Unlimited to restore 100,000 acres of wetlands along the Mississippi River.

Something concrete to work with: A panel hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council and International Code Council explored ways U.S. developers of both building materials and building standards can influence clean energy and energy efficiency goals internationally. Speakers working in carbon-neutral concrete, HVACs, and alternative refrigerants illustrated their influence in the development of stronger U.S. building codes and standards suitable for international adoption, as well as their leadership in training and education. The panel also discussed the benefits of adopting standards built by global consensus (such as the alleviation of trade barriers), and how these codes and standards create a marketplace for energy-efficient technologies and building units.

Prioritizing a just transition: A U.S. Center panel emphasized the importance of centering workers and communities to ensure new clean energy projects are equitable. DOE Chief of Staff Christopher Davis highlighted that for the first time, U.S. unionization rates in the clean energy field are higher than those in the energy sector overall. U.S. Agency for International Development Senior Advisor for Climate Kristen Sarri cited the agency’s efforts in Morocco to support worker advocacy for climate solutions and in Columbia to provide vocational training for Indigenous youth to work in the renewable sector.

Mobilizing investment in adaptation: At a U.S. Center event on advancing private investment in adaptation, speakers discussed the Biden-Harris Administration’s President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), underscoring that “climate risk is business risk.” Speaker Heather Evans of the Department of Commerce called for companies to better integrate resilience, while Lesley Ndlovu of African Risk Capacity (ARC) called for the rapid scaling of solutions, like ARC’s insurance program in Africa that helps protect against climate risk.

Federal support for community-based climate resilience: The America Is All In pavilion hosted a town hall about community resilience that put a spotlight on Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration efforts that received big boosts from the IRA and IIJA, including the Atlas 15 precipitation forecast update. The discussion then turned to the need for communities to have equitable access to climate information. A lack of uniform data availability tends to exacerbate disparities between richer and poorer, and urban and rural, communities.

Around the World

Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at a Climate TRACE launch event for its new greenhouse gas inventory, which now includes monthly emissions data for every country and 9,000 cities, as well as major sources of emissions. Credit: EESI

TRACE-ing emission sources: Climate TRACE released a new inventory of greenhouse gas data, unveiling emission insights for every country and every major source of emissions across the globe. At the data release event, former U.S. Vice President and Climate TRACE Co-founder Al Gore said, “You can only manage what you measure. We know the basic sectors, but we have not been able to identify exactly and precisely where [emissions are] coming from. That’s where Climate TRACE comes in.” The new data paints a clearer picture of emission trends at the local level, revealing a high degree of variance for many jurisdictions from their national averages. This is a major breakthrough for subnational entities seeking high-impact mitigation opportunities. Also notable about the Climate TRACE data is that it includes measures of non-GHG air pollution.
- EESI podcast: Empowering People Around the World with Stellar Satellite Data

No “I” in methane: The UN Environment Programme launched its An Eye on Methane report and data platform at a press conference. The report found that countries are not on track to meet Global Methane Pledge targets and that, according to the IEA, methane emissions are increasing. It also featured data from the International Methane Emissions Observatory’s Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), which issued more than 1,200 notifications to governments and companies about major methane plumes over the last two years. The United States, alongside Turkmenistan, received the highest number of alerts. Despite the often simple fixes that are required for methane leaks—from tightening a loose bolt or replacing a filter—experts said that fewer than 1% of the notifications received a response. Roland Kupers, lead architect of Eye on Methane, discussed the new platform, which shows data on MARS plumes, information on Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 countries, and a “rich set” of scientific studies.
- EESI briefing: Methane Mitigation on the Global Stage

Brazil launches just transition compact: Following the G20 agreement in October to adopt 10 voluntary “just and inclusive energy transition” principles, Brazil announced the Just and Inclusive Energy Transition Compact. This document codifies these agreed-upon principles and encourages countries and non-state actors to sign on and take action to operationalize these principles, which include social protection, respecting rights, and ending energy poverty.

New renewable partnership in Central Asia: The International Renewable Energy Agency announced a Central Asian partnership to accelerate renewable energy investments. The Accelerated Partnership for Renewable Energy in Central Asia will also work to ensure robust renewable energy trade connectivity in the region.

Millions for adaptation finance: The Global Environment Facility announced the winners of $20 million in funding for projects that support adaptation financing. The Challenge Program for Adaptation Innovation uses donor funding to help make it easier to pilot new adaptation finance programs, like a virtual green bank for adaptation and “pull funding” for Caribbean finance.

Solar is good. Storage makes it great: Of all the clean energy technologies tracked by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Executive Director Fatih Birol revealed during a U.S. Center panel that energy storage is his favorite. “The key to open the door for many other technologies,” explained Birol, energy storage is also the “answer” to questions about energy affordability and grid resilience. The panel covered utility-scale long-duration energy storage as well as residential applications like the Environmental Defense Fund’s solar-plus-storage pilot on the island city of Culebra in Puerto Rico.
- EESI article: “The New Iron Age: The Potential of Affordable, Safe, and Clean Energy Storage”

Resources

EESI resources

Briefing series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP29
- What's on the Table for the Negotiations?
- Methane Mitigation on the Global Stage
- U.S.-China Engagement and International Climate Diplomacy
Climate Change Solutions: Bi-weekly newsletter covering climate, energy, and environmental issues
COP29 Announcement Tracker: Key Announcements from the 2024 UN Climate Summit. Also, check out this article with updates on past COP announcements.
U.S. Leaders at COP29: Updates on Members of Congress and Other U.S. Officials at the 2024 UN Climate Summit
EESI's United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Glossary of Terms

Tracking the negotiations

CarbonBrief: Reporting and analysis on the UN climate talks, with in-depth tracking of country positions in the negotiations
COP29 Resource Hub: World Resources Institute's extensive set of resources on the climate negotiations
Earth Negotiations Bulletin: A play-by-play of the negotiations, plus expert analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development
ECO Newsletter: The climate advocate’s perspective from Climate Action Network International

Background and logistics

Azerbaijan COP29 presidency website: Priorities, details, and logistics for the negotiations from this year’s host country
UNFCCC COP29 website: Conference details and all updates on documents produced during the negotiations
Congressional Research Service: Reports related to the UNFCCC

COP29 Dispatch - November 15, 2024

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