Each COP is a defining moment in the fight for our planet and a sustainable future. Scientific findings including the latest IPCC reports and the worrying development of global warming have repeatedly stressed the need for urgent climate action – a key priority for this year’s COP29, hosted in Baku (Azerbaijan) between 11 and 22 November 2024.
Almost nine years after the Paris Agreement, COP 29 will be primarily centered around the implementation and enhancement of the commitments made in previous COP meetings. This encompasses topics such as setting more ambitious emission reduction targets, creating a stronger framework for monitoring and improving countries’ climate actions (NDCs) and providing funds – especially for less wealthy and climate-vulnerable nations.
Key topics
Energy – Climate – Security
The energy-climate-security nexus is an emergent framework that captures the intricate and interdependent relationships between environmental resources, energy systems, climate change, and security dynamics. While the links between climate change and security, between energy and climate change and between energy and security have been part of the academic and political debate for some time, understanding the combined interrelationships and interdependencies between these three areas is a comparatively new field of research.
Quelle: Michael Gaida/Pixabay Peatlands
IKEM events at the COP29
Side event
Transnational Approaches to Energy Sector Reform in Ukraine
14 November 2024 | 13:00-14:30 | Ukrainian Pavilion
This panel discussion will bring together representatives of the Europe-Ukraine Energy
Transition Hub (EUETH), the Ukrainian government and the European Commission, as well
as European and American experts on climate and energy policy, to explore pathways for a
swift implementation of the reforms needed for Ukraine to rebuild a functioning energy
market as well as strategies to align itself with EU regulations and to achieve its climate
goals.
Side event
The Energy-Climate-Security Nexus: Global Paradigms Through the Lens of Ukraine
16 November 2024 | 12:30–14:00 | Ukrainian Pavilion
The war in Ukraine, marked by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, underscores the interconnections between energy, climate, and security, with global implications. This panel will bring together experts to examine Ukraine’s struggle with energy transition, climate impacts, and geopolitical threats, offering insights for a global policy framework on sustainability and resilience.
Quelle: Pexels/Max Vakhtbovycn 
Official UNFCCC side event
Advancing a Climate-Resilient, Green, and Just Energy Transition
18 November 2024 | 11:30–13:00 | Side Event Room 9
The energy sector’s vulnerability to climate change affects critical sectors, communities, and security. This event, hosted by IKEM and OSCE, examines the climate-energy nexus, associated security challenges, and tools for a Climate-Resilient, Green, and Just Energy Transition, with a focus on developing countries.
Side event
Academia at the Forefront: Driving Ukraine’s Climate Action and Sustainable Development
18 November 2024 | 17.00–18.30 | Ukrainian Pavilion
The panel highlights academia’s role in advancing sustainable development and climate resilience by connecting research, policy, and practice. Ukrainian academia offers unique insights from climate action and post-war recovery while learning from international experiences, fostering global collaboration on climate challenges.
Side event
Restoring Nature, Building Peace: Environmental Reconstruction and Climate-Resilient Development of Ukraine
19 November 2024 | 13:00–14:30 | Ukrainian Pavilion
In the wake of conflict, Ukraine faces the triple challenge of addressing climate change, healing its natural environment, and rebuilding. This panel, hosted by IKEM, EUETH, IFZO and Mistra Geopolitics brings together experts in climate science, environmental peacebuilding, and nature conservation. They will discuss innovative approaches to climate-resilient environmental stewardship that not only mitigate and adapt to climate change but also contribute to lasting peace and stability.
