Daily Update COP29 - Tuesday 19 November

What you need to know

• G20 Leaders Signal Climate Action: As the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro concludes, world leaders have issued a joint statement addressing key global challenges, including climate change. While endorsing last year’s COP28 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, the statement offers only a brief mention of COP29, expressing anticipation for a “successful New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) outcome in Baku. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), emphasized the stakes: “Do not leave Baku without a successful new finance goal. This is in every country’s clear interests.” Read the declaration.
• Record carbon emissions highlight urgency of Global Greenhouse Gas Watch - Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached a record high in 2024 and there is still “no sign” that the world has reached a peak, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project – one of the contributors to WMO’s United in Science reports. Read the news.
• Human Development is at the Heart of Climate Action: International partners have issued a joint statement endorsing the Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience, unveiled at COP29. The initiative emphasizes the vital link between human development and climate resilience, calling for collaborative efforts to empower communities, enhance adaptation, and build sustainable futures. Read the news.

Youth at COP29

Claire Ransom, co-lead of the WMO Youth Action Plan, and Leyla Hasanova, the COP29 Presidency’s Youth Climate Champion, at COP29 in Baku.

WMO

Consultations, consultations, consultations! Today the youth delegation consulted with YOUNGO and the European Youth Forum on WMO's incoming Youth Action Plan and how to improve engagement overall. Conversations centered around enhancing involvement in existing national, regional and global youth climate forums and the need for youth-friendly informative and educational materials. Later on, the team met Leyla Hasanova, the COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion, who was enthusiastic about WMO's role in enhancing climate literacy of young climate leaders. Listen to hear some of their ideas for more sustainable cities and agriculture! 

Today

• Insights and Impact of the Agricultural Climate Resilience Enhancement Initiative (ACREI) - The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), FAO, and WMO hosted a joint event to share experiences and lessons from the Agricultural Climate Resilience Initiative (ACREI) in the Horn of Africa. Key points included:
  • Adaptation and Resilience: The Adaptation Fund stressed the importance of documenting best practices to enable scale-up.
  • Early Warning Systems: WMO highlighted the EW4All Initiative and opportunities to scale up projects by linking to the Handbook on Early Warning Systems and Early Action in Fragile Contexts.
  • Climate Services: ICPAC underlined the role of multistakeholder partnerships and coproduction in enhancing climate service effectiveness.
  • Resilience and Risk Reduction: FAO called for integrating disaster risk reduction with climate adaptation to strengthen agricultural resilience.
  • Funding: Participants urged donors to support scaling efforts to ensure smallholder farmers can access climate information for resilience to hazards like drought.
• Accelerate climate action through regional cooperation in water, food, and energy (UNECE, WMO, FAO & UNEP) Launched of the UN-Water policy brief on water for climate mitigation; launch of the action-oriented document on mainstreaming transboundary cooperation into NDCs and NAPs  Countries  
  • Regional cooperation is a must also for data sharing in the WEFE nexus approach and this can significantly contribute to building climate-resilient policies, implement effective planning processes and “real-world” projects (not just in the academic world) by addressing key challenges in both adaptation and mitigation and to build resilience in our societies!
  • Joint research initiatives in the regional context can fill knowledge gaps and provide countries with the guidance needed to incorporate WEFE resource needs and management into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), ensuring that water availability and all WEFE resources are considered when planning for climate mitigation and adaptation. 
  • Regional Cooperation – these efforts not only support local and regional climate goals and WEFE sustainability, but also are the very basis to the global efforts to effectively address the challenges of climate change.
• Beyond the Peaks: Monitoring the Downstream Effects of Glacier Retreat (IAEA, WMO, UNESCO). The event addressed the quantification of glacier retreat: measuring the rate of glacier retreat using various methods, including isotope hydrology. It also addressed the identification of hydrological impact: monitoring changes in river flow, water quality, and sediment transport downstream of retreating glaciers, with a focus on the role of isotope hydrology. Then, it looked into the ecological Consequences: evaluating the impact on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including changes in species composition and habitat availability. And finally, it covered the socioeconomic effects: examining the implications for communities relying on glacier-fed water sources for agriculture, drinking water, and hydropower.

• Building resilience to floods - creating the required databases for decision making explored innovative approaches to flood resilience, focusing on how data-driven insights can strengthen decision-making and build a safer, more resilient future.

• Themed "Building Transformational Resilience: Systems Approaches for Climate and Water Management," today’s events at the Water for Climate Pavilion showcase innovative strategies to strengthen climate and water resilience. Sessions focus on breaking down barriers between sectors, amplifying youth voices in policymaking, and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration. Highlights include discussions on regional cooperation in water, food, and energy, the socioeconomic impacts of glacier retreat, and actionable approaches to flood resilience.
  • 1 - Towards a Common Understanding of Water and Climate Resilience Challenges and Systems Strengthening  Watch on YouTube
  • 2 - Building Transformational Resilience: Systems Approaches for Climate and Water Management  Watch on YouTube
  • 3 - Plenary Wrap-Up: Applying Systems Strengthening for Water and Climate Resilience Watch on YouTube 

If you have  a table full of engineers, they will find an engineering solution even though we might not be looking for one. That is why diversity is important to critical problems like climate change. We need cross- and interidisciplinary approaches.

Ko Barrett, Deputy Secretary-General of WMO

Tomorrow

• WMO Pavilion - 10:00-11:30: Enhancing Water Resources Knowledge for Climate Action - This event will present the latest findings of the Global State of the Water Resources Report and highlight the fundamental role of hydrological data and information on building climate resilience through evidence-informed decision making. More...
• Cryosphere Pavilion 14:30-15:30:  IAEA/WMO From Ice to Water: The Downstream Effects of Glacier Retreat - The retreat of glaciers has significant impacts on the water cycle and water supply. As glaciers shrink, they contribute less meltwater to rivers and streams, resulting in reduced water availability downstream. This not only affects freshwater supply for drinking and agriculture but also disrupts ecosystems and biodiversity. More... 

Picture of the day

Left to right: Mr. Godefroid Nshimirimana (Institut Géographique du Burundi), Ms. Erica Allis (WMO), Dr. Ousmane Ndiaye (ACMAD), Ms. Ko Barrett (WMO), Professor Mansur Bako Matazu (Nigerian Meteorological Agency)

WMO

Post of the day

UN

All pictures from the WMO delegation are on the WMO COP29 photo album.

More communication assets are available on the UN Communication COP29 board.