PCC MEDIA STATEMENT ON COP29 IN BAKU, 11 – 23 NOVEMBER 2024.

MEDIA STATEMENT

11 November 2024

CLIMATE COMMISSION JOINS NEGOTIATORS TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC) 29TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP29), 11 – 23 NOVEMBER 2024 BAKU, IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

A senior delegation of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) has joined the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, who is leading the South African delegation to COP29, taking place from 11-22 November 2024 in Baku, in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The commission delegation is led by PCC Executive Director and Deputy Chairperson designate, Dr Crispian Olver and consists of 4 (four) commissioners representing local government, labour, civil society, and business from South Africa.

COP29 convenes under the Theme “In Solidarity for a Green World” and is expected to build on outcomes emanating from Dubai COP28, with a solid vision based on the two reinforcing pillars of Enhance Ambition and Enable Action. It aims to develop more ambitious climate targets, particularly climate finance, to ensure implementation and to focus on intensifying efforts to quantify resources for developing countries to meet ambitious climate targets.

The PCC anticipates COP29 to practically address the operationalisation, financing and resourcing of the Loss and Damage Fund, which was agreed upon at COP28, with the priority being on garnering pledges for the fund and build on the $700 million that has already been pledged. Importantly, and more than ever, international ambition should remain focused on limiting global warming to a rapidly closing target of 1.5 degrees Celsius pre-industrial levels, to avoid wide-scale, frequent, harm to the planet.

“COP29 comes at the end of a deadly year characterised by natural disasters and severe weather events, with significant impacts on lives and livelihoods in large parts of Africa, exacerbating existing inequalities, including poverty and unemployment and exacerbating humanitarian crises in conflict zones”, “for many citizens of the world, including the Sudanese and Palestinians that have been displaced by war, or do not have access to basic resources and services, floods, poor rainfall and high temperatures have exacerbated already unbearable conditions” said Dr Olver.

The PCC is which is one of the organisations that have partnered with the National Business Initiative (NBI) to host a number of dialogues and side events at the South African pavilion at Baku Stadium on the sidelines of the UNFCCC climate negotiations, will showcase the work being done by various South African organisations to raise awareness, adapt to, and mitigate, climate change.

“It is essential that negotiators at COP29 do not fail the people that are impacted most by climate change, particularly those that do not have the means to deal with the impacts of climate change or recover from climate-related disasters that impacts their lives, livelihoods and communities”. “As the PCC we have full confidence in our negotiating team and I encourage all South Africans to have conviction on the delegation that their right, to not be left behind will represented as the world charts a renewed path to address the global crisis of climate change” added, Dr Olver.

ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENTIAL CLIMATE COMMISSION

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