COP29: Nature and Biodiversity, Indigenous People, Gender Equality, Oceans and Coastal Zones

Nature and Biodiversity

A discussion took place between global leaders to establish how strategies for financing, policy alignments and public-private partnerships could strengthen efforts to meet the Paris Agreement targets and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Leaders spoke of how aligning climate action with biodiversity conservation would drive progress towards achieving 2030 climate and biodiversity goals.

Key highlights included:

Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration

• Talks centered around how protecting forests, oceans, and other natural ecosystems is essential as they act as carbon sinks, sequestering greenhouse gases
• Efforts to conserve biodiversity and restore ecosystems are seen as essential strategies for tackling climate change and building resilience
• Speakers promoted ‘nature-based solutions’ as critical connections between climate and biodiversity goals. These solutions include protecting and restoring forests, mangroves, and other vital ecosystems
• Discussions also placed importance on resource mobilization, in particular, the need for increased funding and better alignment of climate and biodiversity initiatives.

High-Level Meeting on Water

• Discussions saw the launch of the COP29 Declaration on Water for Climate Action, highlighting the importance of water management in climate strategies. Speakers stressed the urgency of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C and accelerating climate action.

Integration of Indigenous Wisdom 

This will be explored in detail below.

Indigenous People

Dialogue on ‘Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ showcased the role of traditional knowledge in ecosystem protection and climate resilience. Leaders spoke of increasing the share of climate finance that directly benefits Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and promoting the integration of Indigenous knowledge into global climate and biodiversity strategies.

Discussions included adoption of the Baku Workplan, which aims to elevate the voices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in climate action. This plan focuses on promoting knowledge exchange, building capacity for engagement and incorporating diverse values and knowledge systems into climate policies and actions.

Implementation of the Baku Workplan will begin in 2025 with a priority-setting workshop involving the incoming members of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), a constituted body established at COP24 to further operationalize the LCIPP.

The FWG is tasked with implementing the Baku Workplan in a gender-responsive and collaborative manner, with a review of progress scheduled for 2027. This will include the development of the next LCIPP workplan for 2028-2031.

Indigenous Representatives from across the globe shared their experiences of how the effects of climate change have directly affected their communities. Speakers gave first-hand accounts of rising seas, burning trees, contaminated water and disease before discussing their proposed solutions.

The Indigenous Representatives gave examples of the traditional practices which they utilize to help find a balance with nature and confront the threat of climate change.

Gender Equality

Yesterday’s Gender Equality Day consisted of two key events, organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”): the ‘High-Level Event on Gender in Transparency’; and the ‘Technical In-Session Dialogue on Gender in Transparency.’ The events collectively aimed to highlight the critical role of gender equality in climate action.

The main focus of the High-Level Event was to ensure that gender issues are properly included in climate action plans, i.e. making sure that the needs and contributions of all genders are reflected in climate policies and reports.

Participants discussed gender-responsive climate policies, which highlighted the importance of inclusive and equitable climate policies that ensure women and marginalized groups are considered. The importance of collecting and using data distinguished by gender to track progress and inform climate actions was also discussed, as was the significance of national focal points in promoting gender-responsive climate policies and integrating gender considerations at all levels of climate action.

The UNFCCC committed to enhancing gender equality in their climate actions and reporting mechanisms, and to the development of action plans to improve the collection and use of gender-disaggregated data in climate reporting.

The second event, namely the Technical In-Session Dialogue on Gender in Transparency, delved further into the technicalities of integrating gender considerations into climate transparency, improving gender-disaggregated data and identifying support mechanisms for mainstreaming gender in reporting.

Oceans and Coastal Zones

The ocean, being the largest carbon sink, is crucial for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and stabilizing the Earth's climate. Global leaders and experts emphasized the urgent need to integrate ocean and coastal zone management into climate action strategies to ensure the sustainability and resilience of these vital ecosystems. The key COP29 takeaways are outlined below.

Ocean Action Event – The Ocean Breakthroughs: Towards Resilient Economies and Societies

The main focus of this event was to highlight the transformative potential of ocean-based solutions in addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development.

Participants discussed the launch of the Coastal Tourism Breakthrough, which aims to promote sustainable tourism practices and to attract significant financial investments. It highlights the tourism industry's commitment to halving emissions by 2030 and investing in sustainable practices.

Decarbonization (including initiatives such as Mangrove Breakthrough), conservation (particularly the need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in sectors such as shipping and energy) and integration into the Nationally Determined Contributions, were topics the participants discussed in the context of meeting climate targets.

Implementation Lab - Ocean Breakthroughs for 1.5°C

The main focus of this event, organized by the Ocean Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean & Climate Platform and the Climate Champions Team, was to explore how ambitious ocean-based solutions can be integrated into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to meet the 1.5°C climate target.

Participants discussed strategies for incorporating ocean-based solutions into NDCs and committed to developing a clear roadmap for doing so. The importance of incorporating a broad range of stakeholders was identified, as well as the need to identify funding mechanisms and to engage with partners. 

The outcome of the discussions was a strengthened commitment to focus on biodiversity protection, the reduction of emissions and the engagement of communities, in order to advance ocean breakthroughs.

Further reading on COP29

COP29