President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev cited his country’s transition journey, from the world’s first industrial oil drill in 1846, in pledging to foster common understanding “between global south and global north” in his address to leaders in Baku this afternoon. #COP29Baku

Secretary-General António Guterres called for a transition-focused carbon market with “no space for greenwashing or land-grabbing” to address the climate crisis’ “final countdown” in his opening remarks at the Plenary today. #COP29Baku

The Secretary-General also called for the G20 states to “tear down the walls of climate finance” to avoid a “tale of two transitions” where developing nations suffer the most from a failure to act. #COP29

Mayor of Kuala Lumpur Maimunah binti Mohd Sharif focused on nature-based solutions and biodiverse cities in her opening remarks at the Plenary today, telling heads of state “the people we serve are looking to you”. #COP29

Yesterday Finnish President Alexander Stubb focused on placing women and youth at the centre of the COP agenda, speaking at the opening for Heads of State. “We can innovate ourselves out of this crisis”, he said at the Plenary. #COP29Baku

We stepped into the World Café earlier today for our “Money Moves for the Planet” event at the Extreme Hangout Pavilion. Join Samia tomorrow for our second event on youth-driven resilience at the Children and Youth Pavilion in the Blue Zone from 4:35pm AZT. #COP29Baku

As we head into Week 2, join the UK delegation at the Extreme Hangout Pavilion from 2pm AZT for an immersive policymaking roleplaying session on the competing influences in climate policy and how young people can drive the conversation 🤝 #COP29Baku

Our Monday sessions focused on climate and children: an estimated only 2.4% of climate finance reaches children and youth, despite children being among those most impacted by climate-adjacent disease and by educational disruption.

“Creating space for children and youth and climate action is not an option - it’s a moral imperative.” - Global Youth Action’s Global Youth Statement #COP29Baku

H.E. Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Malaysia’s Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, confirmed the ASEAN commitments made at #COP29Baku will be “at the heart” of Malaysia’s 2025 chairmanship of the bloc.

Today the delegation attended the UNFCCC’s townhall on Article 6 and progress towards equitable and functional carbon markets. The townhall discussed how human and gender inequalities slowing progress and how a bolstered Loss and Damage Fund is essential. #COP29Baku

David N. Munene, Programs Manager at CYNESA, criticised policymakers and executives for failing to take the need for US$1.3tn of climate capital seriously in this afternoon’s side panel on human rights and intergenerational solidarity: “climate finance is not drama.” #COP29Baku

The #OceanClimateFund was among key focus areas for yesterday’s sessions, with implementation set to commence in the coming months. The fund will prioritise private sector inventivisation and striking a balance between technological solutions and stakeholder needs. #COP29Baku

On the first ever #HumanDevelopmentDay, Adaptation Fund along with the Asian Development Bank and multiple UN agencies released a joint statement endorsing the Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience towards combining robust financing and policy. #COP29Baku

Wednesday’s sessions included a roundtable discussion under the CMA6 Just Transition workstream, where representatives from ITUC and International Labour Organization focused on labour equity considerations and social safeguards for working people in combatting the climate crisis. #COP29Baku

COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion Leyla Hasanova yesterday expanded the Youth Delegates Program, which will facilitate workshops, including the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory, for youth policymakers from around the world. #COP29Baku

#COP29Baku was originally intended as a “gender COP” and gender justice was at the heart of Thursday’s UN sessions, which saw new care economy commitments and discussions focusing how the climate crisis could push 158,000,000 more women and girls into poverty by 2050.

Arriving at #COP29Baku from #G20Brazil, UN SG stressed the importance of meaningful compromise in a Thursday press conference and encouraged negotiators to “soften” their hard lines in the interests of delivering an impactful finance package.

In a negotiations update delivered yesterday, the Centre for Environmental Law warned that insufficient progress has been made on defining and providing climate finance at #COP29Baku. Negotiators must agree subgoals and to allocate funds to avoid irreparable damage beyond 1.5.

On Friday, the final draft Presidency CMA 6 NCQG text confirmed costed needs for developing state Parties are estimated at US$5.1-6.8 trillion. YOUNGO noted that the text fails to make express commitments to youth despite its focus on inclusion. #COP29Baku