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COP Milestones: COP26, COP27, COP28, COP29

Climate Diplomacy: COP, International Solar Alliance and Mission LiFE

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COP Milestones: COP26, COP27, COP28, COP29

3.1 COP26 — Glasgow (November 2021)

Host: UK; venue: Glasgow, Scotland

Key Outcomes

  1. Glasgow Climate Pact — committed to "phase down unabated coal" (not "phase out" — India and China pushed for "phase down")
  2. 1.5°C reassertion — countries urged to submit stronger NDCs by end of 2022
  3. India's Panchamrit — PM Modi announced five commitments (see key point 9)
  4. Mission LiFE launched by PM Modi
  5. CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) expanded
  6. Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ): $130 trillion private finance committed by 450 financial institutions
  7. Forest and Land Use: Over 100 countries pledged to end deforestation by 2030 — "Glasgow Forest Declaration"
  8. Methane Pledge: 100+ countries committed to 30% methane reduction by 2030 (India did not join)
  9. Article 6 finalised: Carbon markets rules after 6 years of negotiations — allows bilateral carbon credit trading between countries

3.2 COP27 — Sharm el-Sheikh (November 2022)

Host: Egypt

Key Outcomes

  1. Loss and Damage Fund created — historic breakthrough; specific fund agreed after 30 years of developing countries' demands
  2. Kept 1.5°C alive "on life support" — no new mitigation progress
  3. Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan — urged fastest possible phase-down of coal and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies
  4. Agriculture and food systems added to formal UNFCCC work programme (Koronivia Joint Work Programme)
  5. Adaptation commitments reinforced — National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

What COP27 Did NOT Achieve

No agreement on stronger/more ambitious NDCs; fossil fuel phase-out language blocked by oil-producing nations; "loss and damage" agreed without specifying contributors.

3.3 COP28 — Dubai, UAE (November–December 2023)

Host: UAE; President: Sultan Al Jaber (CEO of ADNOC — controversial choice)

Key Outcomes

  1. First Global Stocktake (GST) concluded: World "not on track" for 1.5°C; current policies lead to ~2.7°C; urgent course correction needed
  2. "Transition away from fossil fuels" — first time fossil fuels explicitly named in a UNFCCC outcome; language reads "in a just, orderly and equitable manner" by 2050; not "phase out" but historic nonetheless
  3. Loss and Damage Fund operationalised: World Bank as interim host; pledges = $475 million (far short of the billions needed)
  4. Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge: Triple global renewable energy capacity (11.4 TW) and double energy efficiency improvements by 2030
  5. Health and Climate Declaration — 130+ countries
  6. Nuclear energy mention — first time in UNFCCC outcome; 20+ countries endorsed tripling nuclear capacity by 2050

3.4 COP29 — Baku, Azerbaijan (November 2024)

Host: Azerbaijan (second consecutive oil-state host; COP30 to be held in Belém, Brazil, November 2025)

Key Outcomes

  1. New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) agreed: Developed countries commit $300 billion per year to developing nations by 2035; also mobilise $1.3 trillion/year total from all public and private sources
  2. India and developing nations strongly pushed for $1 trillion/year — final amount criticised by India as "paltry"
  3. Article 6 Carbon Markets: Further operationalisation — UN carbon credit registry rules finalised
  4. COP30 to be held in Belém, Brazil (November 2025)