Climate ministers convene in Denmark to set the course towards COP29

For the third consecutive year, the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial will convene approximately 40 climate leaders and ministers from across the globe to accelerate climate action and advocate for ambitious outcomes at COP29. Taking place on 21-22. March, the event builds on the commitments made during COP28, emphasizing the need to translate rhetoric into tangible actions. The objective is to establish a clear trajectory for COP29, scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024.

Relive: Historically strong presence as Denmark gears up for COP28

Dr Sultan Al-Jaber, COP28 President, says:

The historic UAE Consensus set a clear path to keep the north star of 1.5 within reach, with many groundbreaking firsts, including the first agreement at a COP for a responsible transition away from fossil fuels, the first explicit targets for renewable energy capacity, tripling by 2030 and firsts for nature with a 2030 goal to end deforestation. Now all parties to the consensus must expedite work to enhance their NDCs in line with the commitments they have made. The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to show how they are working on turning an unprecedented agreement into unprecedented action. We are what we do, not what we say.

Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-Designate, says:

We are committed to building trust and momentum to deliver successful and meaningful climate action at COP29. It will take all members of the international community, working in partnership with the UN and other international actors, to achieve our goals in a spirit of solidarity. Only through an inclusive COP can we develop the right path forward.

Dan Jørgensen, Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, says:

At COP28 the world reached a historic agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and set new ambitious goals for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Now we must all deliver on the commitments from Dubai. This meeting provides an early opportunity to push for implementation of the UAE consensus and an ambitious result on the new Goal on climate finance and on the NDCs we have to deliver in 2025. We are looking forward to welcoming the ministers and climate leaders to start this important work.

Listen to: Sound of Green: The Danish way of doing COP

The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial will be the first time since COP28 in Dubai that climate leaders and ministers from central negotiation groups will meet in person to discuss issues central to the COP process. The COP28-president Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber will chair the meeting with the incoming COP29-president designate Mukhtar Babayev from Azerbaijan, with Danish minister Dan Jørgensen as host. Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Simon Stiell, will also attend the meeting.

The Ministerial will consist of multiple plenaries and breakout sessions on NDCs, finance, climate adaptation, loss & damage and mitigation. The meeting will take place at Marienlyst Strandhotel in the Danish city of Elsinore.

To read the original press release, visit Climate Ministers meet in Denmark to set the course towards COP29

Time for global action

Three months ago, COP28 in Dubai reached an ambitious agreement that the world must transition away from fossil fuels and build much more renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, reduce methane emissions and end deforestation by 2030. Now climate ministers and leaders from more than 30 countries meet in Denmark to discuss how to turn the words of the agreement into global action. The issue of financing will be central to the UN’s next climate summit, COP29, where a new global target for climate financing for developing countries is expected to be adopted. Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, Dan Jørgensen will host the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial together with the current and incoming COP presidents from the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.

It was historic step forward that after almost 30 years of climate negotiations, the Dubai agreement finally addressed the issue of fossil fuels and set global goals for renewable energy and energy efficiency. But the real test is of course if we follow up with action. This year we need to set the implementation of the transition away from fossils on track and tackle the massive lack of finance for climate action in the world’s poorest countries. It is crucial that we get everybody on board with a fair and realistic target for climate finance, which addresses the real needs of developing countries. Reaching an agreement on this difficult issue will require time and effort. That effort starts now here in Denmark, says Dan Jørgensen.

The agenda for the ministerial also includes the national climate targets (NDCs) that countries must report to the UN no later than the beginning of 2025. Denmark calls for all countries to make new climate targets and plans that are in line with the COP28 agreement on global transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, tripling renewable energy and a doubling annual improvement in energy efficiency up to 2030.

More ambitious national climate targets in all countries are necessary if we are to succeed in the fight against global warming and help the populations of poor and vulnerable countries to deal with its devastating consequences. At the same time, we need to make sure that poor and vulnerable developing countries get the support they need to increase the green ambitions in their NDCs, says Dan Jørgensen.