COP29: Energy, Peace, Relief and Recovery

Key pledges announced include the following:

• Azerbaijan announced plans to build its first offshore wind farm. The state energy company Socar signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and the United Arab Emirates’ Masdar to develop a 3.5 gigawatt project in the Caspian Sea. The agreement was signed during COP29
• Khalid Almehaid, Deputy Minister of Sustainability and Climate Change for Saudi Arabia, stated that the country is projected to achieve 44GW in renewable energy by the end of this year, a significant increase from less than 1GW in 2022. He noted that this demonstrates the potential for energy transition even in oil-producing nations
• Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge: This pledge gained momentum with official backing from the UK, Uruguay, Belgium, and Sweden. The pledge aims to enhance energy storage solutions and improve grid infrastructure to support large-scale renewable energy use. The objective of the pledge is to increase energy storage capacity by a factor of 6 between 2022 and 2030 and to add or refurbish 65 million kilometers of grids by 2040
• Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA): Since it was launched at COP28, the alliance has doubled its membership with members operating across five continents. It also announced increased annual investments in grids and renewable power generation capacity, supporting the COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids pledge
• Latin America Energy Organization (OLADE): OLADE announced a regional target for energy efficiency and a regional agreement to stop building new coal-fired power plants
• Hydro4NetZero-LAC Initiative: This initiative was launched to develop and modernize sustainable hydropower infrastructure, increasing the flexibility and resilience of energy systems in Latin America
• African Energy Commission (AFREC): AFREC launched a continental-level Energy Efficiency Program, Strategy and Action Plan. This roadmap targets various sectors, including industry, electricity supply, appliances, buildings, transportation and agriculture.

These announcements build on the momentum of developments that took place earlier in the first week:

• TeraMed Initiative: Seven Mediterranean countries committed to developing one terawatt of renewable capacity by 2030. This initiative, led by IRENA and the Global Renewables Alliance, has the potential to create three million new jobs in the solar industry alone¹
• Breakthrough Agenda: More than 60 countries, responsible for 80% of global emissions, pledged to support new priority actions to cut carbon emissions. The new “Baku Priority International Actions” aim to strengthen collaboration in key sectors and advance climate action before the next COP in Brazil
• Hydrogen Action Declaration: This declaration aims to expand political support for scaling clean hydrogen production and use, with Kazakhstan and Singapore joining the efforts

Global Co-head of Energy Stephen Hill comments:

At a time when peace is becoming ever more fragile across the globe, and particularly in or through energy important regions, it is fundamental that our world leaders grasp the importance of energy production, supply and usage. But we must do more than that - this is not a reason to reverse the decarbonization trend, we should re-invigorate our focus on the energy transition to ensure relief and recovery is available to all in a just and fair way for this and future generations. Addressing water insecurity and enhancing grid stability and storage are crucial components of this transition, ensuring that energy systems are resilient and capable of meeting future demands.

Peace, Relief and Recovery announcements

In addition to the focus on renewable energy, the President of COP29 launched the Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief and Recovery, which aims to build on previous COP initiatives. This new initiative establishes the Baku Climate and Peace Action Hub as a collaboration between numerous countries across the globe, including Egypt, Italy, Germany, Uganda, UAE and the UK. The aim is to allow peaceful climate action to support and finance those countries most vulnerable to conflict, in a globally coordinated manner.

The initiative will focus on water scarcity, food insecurity, land degradation and human displacement, as these limbs can act as catalysts for conflict and instability in regions already vulnerable to climate change. Recommendations currently include promoting sustainable water management practices and climate-resilient agricultural solutions, and supporting land rehabilitation and ecosystem restoration.

The initiative was developed in conjunction with think tanks, development banks, UN agencies and the private sector.

Further reading on COP29

COP29