COP25 overview

Between 2 and 13 of December the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in Madrid, Spain.

Key developments

Nearly 27,000 delegates arrived in the Spanish capital in early December aiming to finalise the “rulebook” of the Paris Agreement – the operating manual needed when it takes effect in 2020 – by settling on rules for carbon markets and other forms of international cooperation under “Article 6” of the deal. The Article 6 says that the most polluting countries must pay more for the emissions they make.

Negotiations were unable to reach consensus in many areas, pushing decisions into next year under “Rule 16” of the UN climate process. Matters including Article 6, reporting requirements for transparency and “common timeframes” for climate pledges were all punted into 2020, when countries are also due to raise the ambition of their efforts.

The meeting was finally closed at 1:55pm on Sunday. At nearly 44 hours after its scheduled end of 6pm on Friday, this means COP25 became the latest-ever finish.

Read here an article about the key developments of COP25.

New IRENA Report

The new IRENA report “NDCs in 2020: Advancing Renewables in the Power Sector and Beyond” calls on policy makers to enhance NDCs through renewables and turn the tide against global warming.

The report shows that renewable energy ambition within NDCs would have to more than double by 2030 to put the world in line with the Paris Agreement goals, cost-effectively reaching 7.7 terawatts (TW) of globally installed capacity by then. Today’s renewable energy pledges under the NDCs are falling short of this, targeting only 3.2 TW.

Read more about the report here.

UNDP and IRENA joint event

Action by countries to stop the continued progression of fossil fuels is possible, UNDP and IRENA said at a joint event held at the UN Climate Summit in Madrid.

Nations around the world should embark on a massive and immediate shift to renewable energy, the United Nations and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said today, adding that such a move would drastically cut emissions and help get the world on track to meet the Paris climate goals

Working with the NDC partnership and other partners, UNDP will support 100 countries to accelerate the enhancement of national climate pledges by 2020, building on its climate action portfolio in over 140 countries. Energy is a crucial part of this work and IRENA will provide the necessary knowledge, and support countries to accelerate energy transitions driven by renewable energy. To date, 78 countries are drawing upon UNDP’s experience in disaster risk reduction, gender, health and nature-based solutions.

Read more about the event here.

Meeting of the Lusophone Countries

The Lusophone countries met at COP25 on 6 December 2019, and agreed that the next meeting of the Lusophone Core of the Partnership for Transparency, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement will take place in Cape Verde in May 2020.

The Lusophone Center aims to promote the exchange of experiences and foster training between CPLP member countries to comply with communication and transparency obligations assumed under legal instruments of International law.

Europe's Green Deal

Another highlight of COP25 was Europe compromised to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050, the greatest challenge and opportunity of our times. To achieve this, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, the most ambitious package of measures that should enable European citizens and businesses to benefit from sustainable green transition. Measures accompanied with an initial roadmap of key policies range from ambitiously cutting emissions, to investing in cutting-edge research and innovation, to preserving Europe’s natural environment.