Between November 11 and 22, in a complex geopolitical context marked by concerns about energy security and global instability, The United Nations Climate Summit, COP29, will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan.
This summit is one of three major Environmental Conferences of the Parties in 2024, underscoring the interconnectedness of the crises addressed. The holding of COP16 on Biodiversity in Colombia, COP29 on Climate and, subsequently, COP16 on Desertification in Saudi Arabia in a span of just six weeks demonstrates that a stable climate requires a stable natural environment, and that a sustainable future does not It is possible without a healthy planet.
The dramatic consequences of the climate crisis are increasingly evident globally, and this year has been especially tough in terms of climate impacts. Extreme weather events have caused death, destruction, enormous property damage and economic loss around the world. A heartbreaking image of three friends in the Natisone River, near Udine, Italy, captured global attention at the end of May, shortly before they lost their lives after being swept away by the current. Unprecedented floods in Spain, violent hurricanes in Cuba and Florida, extensive forest fires in South America, extreme droughts in the Amazon and the United States, and deadly typhoons in China and the Philippines have been part of this tragic panorama.
In the Amazon region of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, for example, it is estimated that the drought left more than 400,000 boys and girls without access to food, water and education. In the United States, extreme drought currently affects 48 of its states, creating an unprecedented water crisis that impacts approximately 150 million people in both rural and urban areas, critically affecting agriculture, water resources and the economy in general. .
Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to this crisis. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, approximately 44% of wheat, 43% of rice, 32% of corn and 17% of soybeans come from high climate risk areas.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the year 2024 could become the warmest on record, with a global average temperature higher than that of 2023.. So far, the average temperature in 2024 has been 0.23 ° C higher than in 2023. The northern summer of 2024 was the warmest on record, and August was the thirteenth of the last fourteen months in which The global temperature exceeded the pre-industrial level by 1.5 °C. On July 22, with a global average temperature above 17 °C, the hottest day in history was recorded. In August alone, the frozen areas of the Arctic and Antarctic decreased by 17% and 7%, respectively.
At the current rate, in just five years we will reach the limit of 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures, set in the COP21 Paris Agreement in 2015. This would put the world on track for a catastrophic increase of between 2 .6 and 3.1 °C by the end of the century.
Between 2000 and 2019, an estimated average of 500,000 people died each year due to increasingly stifling heat waves. Climate change and associated disasters displace approximately 30 million people worldwide annually, and by 2050 it is projected that there will be more than 1.2 billion climate displaced people. This year saw the first displacement for climatic reasons in Latin America: due to rising sea levels and frequent flooding, the 1,200 inhabitants of the Guna indigenous community, on the islet of Cartí Sugtupu (Panama), were transferred in May to a new community on the mainland, called Nuevo Cartí.
In this context, COP29 will be a crucial instance to accelerate climate action. One of the main objectives will be to agree on a new climate financing goal that ensures that all countries have the necessary resources to take stronger measures, dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilient communities.
Likewise, countries have already begun to define their new national climate commitments, planned for 2025, which must be aligned with the objective of keeping global temperatures below 1.5 °C.
Other notable topics of this Summit include the implementation of the Loss and Damage Response Fund, the advancement of transparency tools, the development of the new work program on just transition and the improvement of support for National Adaptation Plans.
COP29 is also a reminder that time is of the essence, and each actor, in particular companies, must play their part to avoid a climate breakdown that will affect present and future generations. From innovations in clean technology to investments in renewable energy and reducing emissions throughout their value chains, companies have the power to drive meaningful change.
Director of National Center for Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Capital (FCE-UBA), Executive Secretary of the Ibero-American Network of Universities for CSR (RedUniRSE).
Source: Ambito
