ALER for the first time at COP

Pedro Clemente, ALER's Planning and Partnerships Manager, attended the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku (Azerbaijan), from 14th to 18th November 2024. As part of the Portuguese delegation, ALER took part in the Portugal Pavilion program by co-organizing the launch event for the 2nd CPLP Energy Conference, together with the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe. This was ALER's first participation in a COP.

In Baku, ALER accompanied and participated in different activities developed by Portuguese-speaking countries, with particular emphasis on those in the pavilions of Angola, Brazil and Portugal.

On 14th November, ALER was invited to take part in a round table, behind closed doors at the SE4All pavilion, dedicated to the theme “Implementation of Mozambique's Energy Transition Strategy - Potential Role of National Platforms?”. Organized by the Mozambican Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, with the support of the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), SE4All and the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), this session focused on debating the role of national platforms in improving the effectiveness of the implementation of Mozambique's Energy Transition Strategy, in a context where there are several development partners providing support to the government, and in which it is important to involve the private sector.

The following day, in the Portuguese Pavilion, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Natural Resources of São Tomé and Príncipe (MIRN), together with ALER and RELOP, held the launch event for the 2nd CPLP Energy Conference. Under the slogan “Driving a Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Energy Transition for the CPLP”, the event will take place on 27th and 28th May 2025, in Cascais (Portugal) and will be a unique opportunity to boost synergies between Portuguese-speaking countries. The conference is intended to strengthen the unity of the CPLP and reinforce its presence and voice in discussions on energy, climate and sustainability as a coordinated bloc. Rewatch the launch event here.

Pedro Clemente was one of the speakers at the session “Keeping 1.5°C Alive: The role of strategic partnerships for climate finance”, organized by EY on 16th November at the Portuguese Pavilion. This panel reinforced the importance of strategic partnerships in climate finance and highlighted the need for effective collaboration between the public and private sectors to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon society. Moderated by Norma Franco, Climate Change and Sustainability Partner at EY, the session included interventions by Alexandre Rodrigues, Special Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Environment of Cape Verde; Duarte Cordeiro, Partner at Shiftify - Sustainability Strategies; Francisco Ferreira, University Professor at FCT/UNL and President of ZERO. Rewatch the event here.

On the 18th, ALER was invited to take part in the meeting of the Lusophone Nucleus of the Partnership for Transparency in the Paris Agreement. This event took place in the Angolan delegation room, where the importance of transparency, monitoring and accountability was debated, promoting the exchange of experiences between Portuguese-speaking countries, to strengthen their capacities to comply with the communication and transparency obligations included within the scope of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

During its participation in COP29, ALER had the opportunity to meet with different representatives of the delegations of Portuguese-speaking countries, with international entities such as the Green Climate Fund, Africa-Europe Foundation, United Nations Development Programme and Enabel, but also with various representatives of the private sector, active and interested in the energy sector in the CPLP.

ALER's presence at COP29 was a significant milestone in the Association's activity, affirming its regional dimension and focus on key energy and climate topics in the community of Portuguese-speaking countries. Looking to the future, namely COP30 (the first to be organized by a CPLP country), ALER maintains its commitment to once again contribute to the strong and coordinated participation of Portuguese-speaking countries in this major event, to be held in November 2025 in Brazil.