As the global climate crisis escalates, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) to be held from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, will serve as a pivotal point to deliver on the much needed climate finance and actions supporting the UAE Consensus.

Cutting industrial greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing resilience of economies and communities is vital to achieving the triade of the Paris Agreement goals. To meet this challenge, nations and industries must adopt sustainable and innovative practices to respond and adapt to changing conditions, reduce global emissions, enable economic stability, and reverse environmental degradation.

In line with its mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development, UNIDO spearheads innovation and industrial transformation as drivers for resilient economies that adapt to climate disruptions, improve living standards, and protect the environment. At COP29, UNIDO will advocate for boosting technology transfer, increasing investments and access to climate finance for developing countries.

UNIDO’s participation at COP29 aligns with its holistic Climate Change Strategy, which envisions a world without poverty and hunger, where industry drives low-emission economies, improves the living standards and preserves the liveable environment for present and future generations, leaving no one behind. Building on its key themes of industry decarbonization, low-emissions hydrogen, just transition, climate adaptation and resilience, UNIDO will integrate cross-cutting priorities such as climate finance, gender equality, and youth empowerment into its activities at COP29.

At the request of the COP29 Presidency, UNIDO is leading three initiatives aimed at enabling progress toward the UAE Consensus to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency. These initiatives involve gathering leaders from State and non-State actors to commit to boosting renewable energy generation, enhancing interconnections, increasing storage capacity, and accelerating production and adoption of low-emissions hydrogen.

UNIDO will demonstrate critical solutions for enhancing the adaptive capacity and resilience of industries and communities, decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, and creating new sustainable job opportunities. UNIDO will also highlight the importance of circular economy practices that maximize resources, minimize waste, and redesign production cycles for a sustainable and resilient future.

Over the two weeks of COP29, UNIDO will convene a wide array of events, high-level discussions and meetings with strategic partners to set foundations for collaborative initiatives.

Join us in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024 as we work together to advance industrial transformation as a driver of global climate solutions.