Mint Primer: Your two-minute guide to COP29... and dystopia

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Nations, businesses and civil society are set to discuss ways to tackle the climate crisis at yet another Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, The 29th meet (COP29) is in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 11-14 November. Mint explains the agenda: The summit will discuss a climate finance deal for countries and communities to transition to clean energy and other low-carbon solutions.

A massive $2.4 trillion a year—four times what is currently invested—is required for poor and emerging economies to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Countries will also present their updated climate action commitments, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs). These targets form the basis of global efforts to tackle climate change.

Both climate finance and NDCs are critical to restricting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Read more: India should rely on itself to tackle the environmental challenges it must As per the latest UN Emission Gaps Report, present national commitments are insufficient and put the planet on track for a rise of 2.6-2.8 degrees Celsius. And if nothing changes, the world is heading for a rise of 3.1 degrees, with catastrophic consequences for people and economies.

In 2023, greenhouse gas emissions grew 1.3% year-on-year to 57.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent. To restrict temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, emissions need to be cut by 42% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. To limit global warming to below 2 degrees emissions must fall 28% by 2030.