Parliamentary Meeting at COP29 Baku, Azerbaijan 16-17 November 2024

The Parliamentary Meeting on the occasion of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will take place on 16 and 17 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Meeting is expected to adopt an outcome document. Given the constraints of the format of COP29 as an event, the draft outcome document must be adopted by the Parliamentary Meeting without resorting to a vote or extensive redrafting. With this in mind, the IPU and the Host Parliament ensured that there was ample opportunity for feedback in the lead up to the Parliamentary Meeting.

The Meeting Rapporteur, Mr. Soltan Mammadov, Member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan had prepared a preliminary draft of the outcome document, which was shared with the IPU Members on 15 August 2024. The IPU Members were invited to examine the preliminary draft and provide comments and observations on its form and content by 4 October 2024 at the latest. The preliminary draft outcome document was also discussed by the IPU Standing Committee on Sustainable Development during the 149th IPU Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16 October 2024. Presented below is the final draft outcome document, which incorporates a number of amendments received. It will be submitted for adoption at the conclusion of the Parliamentary Meeting.

Draft outcome document

We, parliamentarians, gathered on the occasion of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), held in Baku, Azerbaijan,

Recalling the principles and objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, and the outcomes of previous United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COPs),

Recalling also the outcome of the first global stocktake and emphasizing the need for urgent action and support to keep the 1.5 °C goal within reach which “requires deep, rapid and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions of 43% by 2030 and 60% by 2035 relative to the 2019 level and reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050”,

Deeply concerned by the increasing frequency and intensity of catastrophic natural disasters over the past few years, including severe droughts, devastating floods and unprecedented temperature increases, and consequently cognisant of the increasing imperative for early action,

Recalling the resolution entitled Partnerships for climate action: Promoting access to affordable green energy, and ensuring innovation, responsibility and equity adopted at the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), as well as other relevant IPU documents such as the resolution Addressing climate change adopted at the 141st IPU Assembly in 2019, and the Nusa Dua Declaration Getting to zero: Mobilizing parliaments to act on climate change endorsed by the 144th IPU Assembly in 2022 as guiding documents,

Recognizing the importance of deliberations on setting a new collective, quantified goal on climate finance to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and confident that encouraging governments and societies to mobilize efforts to meet the Paris Agreement goals will contribute to adapting and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change,

Noting the importance of strengthening partnerships among all countries, parliaments, research establishments, governments and private institutions, and civil society organizations in combating climate change, –

Acknowledging that the deepening global challenges posed by climate change complicate achieving the targets of net zero emissions by 2050, with forecasts indicating a need for investments of up to US$ 300 billion a year by 2030 and US$ 500 billion a year by 2050 to meet national targets, and recognizing the significant lack of climate financing for developing countries,

Underscoring the necessity to endorse the recommendations on the role of parliamentarians in climate-related issues as stated in the final document of the COP28 Parliamentary Meeting held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2023,

Recalling that the outcome of the global stocktake shall inform the Parties to the Paris Agreement on updating and enhancing, in a nationally determined manner, of their actions and support in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Paris Agreement, as well as on enhancing international cooperation for climate action,

Alarmed by the findings of UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2023 that the full implementation of current, unconditional nationally determined contributions (NDCs) would put the world on track for limiting global warming to 2.9 °C while the additional, full implementation and continuation of conditional NDCs would lower global warming to 2.5 °C by the end of the century,

Recognizing that climate change may create obstacles to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

Noting the importance of raising the level of urgency of adaptation and of supporting adaptation adequately, and highlighting the need for bridging the adaptation finance gap, which is of utmost necessity for enhancing adaptation action overall,

Stressing the need for parliamentarians’ participation in addressing climate change and the importance of implementing countries’ laws aligned with national adaptation plans (NAPs), adaptation communications and NDCs, as appropriate,

1. Call upon parliaments to support their governments’ actions through relevant legislation and oversight mechanisms to address adaptation and mitigation efforts in line with NDCs, and the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement goals and principles;
2. Urge parliaments to exert pressure on their respective governments to invest more in accelerating the transition to clean, in particular renewable, energy to implement the 17 SDGs, to adopt legislation that supports the tripling of renewable energy capacity, to double energy efficiency improvements by 2030 and to accelerate efforts to transition towards clean energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, while recognizing that each nation’s path will be determined by its unique energy landscape, economic needs, and national priorities; and encourage countries to accelerate the phase-down of unabated coal power, transition responsibly from fossil fuels, and employ transitional fuel as necessary, to achieve net zero goals in accordance with their NDCs;
3. Call upon parliaments to support governments to accelerate their work on substantially reducing non-carbon-dioxide emissions, including, in particular, methane emissions, and to include specific methane reduction targets in their NDCs;
4. Urge parliamentarians to actively participate in international platforms to prevent conflicts, wars and military clashes that severely impact the environment and ecological balance, and to seek sustainable peace models crucial for humanity’s future;
5. Call upon parliaments to create a more comprehensive understanding among the international community about the environmental damage caused by mines and unexploded ordnance in conflict and post-conflict zones, while also responding attentively to the calls for assistance from countries in need in this area;
6. Invite parliamentarians to support comprehensive, long-term policies on water, to increase access to safe and clean water and its sustainable use, to promote adaptive measures, such as more resilient water supply and sanitation systems that can withstand growing climate change impacts, to support investments and innovative financing for sustainable water resource management;
7. Stress the need for parliaments to create new legal mechanisms that encourage innovative financing and aim specifically to activate national companies and transnational corporations in climate change mitigation and adaptation programmes by stimulating sustained investments into and initiatives on the application of and access to new technologies;
8. Emphasize the need for increased joint initiatives and knowledge-sharing efforts among all members of the international community to establish more agile, operative and comprehensive cooperation mechanisms, in particular for the sharing of robust and transparent data, to prevent, mitigate and adapt to the effects of extreme weather events such as disasters, floods and droughts, desertification and land degradation;
9. Invite parliamentarians to take steps to improve legislation on the prevention of harmful impacts of wastewater, radioactive waste, and household waste on human health and the environment, as well as on the integration of household waste as raw material sources in production processes;
10. Call upon parliaments to recognize the links between health and climate change, and that climate change is a health-risk multiplier, and to support multi-sectoral policies and investments to make health systems resilient to the impacts of climate change, including to climate-induced food insecurity, extreme weather-related illness and vector-borne diseases, ensuring positive health outcomes for all, especially for the vulnerable and marginalized populations;
11. Encourage parliaments to promote international cooperation for protective legislation connecting climate, biodiversity, loss and pollution, and addressing ecocide;
12. Urge parliaments to address through their legislative, oversight and representation functions the needs of the groups disproportionately affected by climate change, in particular groups in vulnerable situations, including women, children, elderly, people with disabilities, young people and minorities, and to implement climate goals in accordance with the principle of gender equality and equity;
13. Call upon parliamentarians to work with their governments to support technology transfer on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, to ensure access to modern technologies that allow developing countries to utilize clean energy sources, priced as affordably as possible, and to actively create a legislative base that encourages the private sector to support this effort;
14. Highlight the need for developed countries to fulfill their financial commitments, including supporting reforms of relevant financial institutions that enhance the accessibility and predictability of climate financing for developing countries, and the allocation of resources appropriate to existing needs, and to support the urgent transfer of Loss and Damage funding to developing countries, in particular the small island developing States and least developed countries;
15. Invite parliaments to support countries affected by disasters in keeping with the provision on financial and technical resources as outlined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement;
16. Invite parliaments and governments to establish effective and agile multi-stakeholder mechanisms for collaboration in order to coordinate initiatives across ecological, social, economic, administrative and legislative domains in their respective countries;
17. Invite parliaments to ensure that climate education is mainstreamed across all educational levels, and to promote training programmes and public awareness initiatives on climate change in order to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, values and kind of behaviour they need to understand and participate in the transition to a climate-resilient world;
18. Call upon parliaments to raise awareness of climate change, combat misinformation, promote broader involvement of civil society in their work on climate change, highlighting the importance of public participation in climate action, information, education, discussion and consultation;
19. Invite parliamentarians to promote transparency in the implementation of commitments related to climate change, in particular the implementation of nationally determined contributions, which shall be revised in 2025, and in the adoption and enforcement of related legislation;
20. Emphasize the importance of the participation of parliamentarians in international platforms focusing on public awareness of climate change, environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity and other environmental challenges;
21. Call upon international financial institutions to enhance collaboration with developing countries in exchanging knowledge and experience on climate finance, preparing climate investment plans, promoting climate investments and attracting global climate finance through global green funds;
22. Invite parliaments to promote initiatives for the conservation and restoration of forests, oceans and other biodiversity hotspots, including the implementation of sustainable ecosystem management practices, combating deforestation, preserving biodiversity and addressing pollution; 23. Commit to review the implementation of recommendations of the present Parliamentary Meeting and promote the stocktaking of efforts through the IPU prior to COP30 in 2025.

The delegations participating in the Parliamentary Meeting on the occasion of COP29 would like to extend their sincere gratitude to the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan for hosting this global parliamentary meeting, which comes at a time when we all realize that the window of opportunity to secure a sustainable future for all is rapidly closing and global efforts at all levels are urgently needed to confront the threat of climate change.