Inside COP29: A first-timer’s experience from the world’s biggest climate summit

In November, Baku, Azerbaijan played host to a pivotal moment in climate action. And DOVU was part of it, making its debut at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29). Alongside our partners in the Hedera ecosystem, we ventured to what many dubbed 'the first finance COP' to showcase how web3 technology can help tackle the climate crisis.

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Understanding COP: The Global Climate Stage

The United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) is where countries come together to make decisions related to tackling the climate crisis. Since the first COP in the 1990s, it’s evolved dramatically. No longer just a policy-focused gathering, it's now an urgent response to our climate emergency. With 2024 marking the hottest year on record and our planet surpassing 1.5C of heating for the first time, the stakes have never been higher.

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Navigating COP29

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The Core Negotiations

At the heart of COP are the official negotiations. These range from high-level talks with country leaders to specialist discussions about topics such as impact measurement. While primarily driven by country delegations, observers can attend and sometimes contribute to these crucial conversations.

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National and Organisational Showcases

The country and organisation pavilions are buzzing hubs of activity. Beyond showcasing climate initiatives, these spaces hosted daily programmes covering everything from energy transition to carbon credits. I had the privilege of speaking on a panel at the Digital Innovation Pavilion.

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Corporate Innovation Zones

The corporate pavilions, open to the public, demonstrated private sector climate solutions. Companies like Deloitte organised impressive speaker series (in conjunction with the Female Quotient) – including sessions where both myself and DOVU's Chief of Staff shared insights on panels.

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‘Off conference’ activity

There’s also so much activity happening outside the main venue, around the city. This includes events like those run by the Climate Impact Innovation Zone, IETA, and Hedera, with its own Regenerative Finance Forum. These additional platforms for knowledge sharing and networking had the additional benefit of providing ways to see more of Baku, and its incredible architecture and culture. 

You also find that you learn about events while you’re there, through having conversations with contacts and friends old and new, and by wandering around different pavilions.

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An organisational marvel

The last few years prior to Baku have been riddled with logistical challenges; from Covid and poor venue design, to security concerns and high temperatures. We were also prepared to face hours of queuing - for both entrance to the venue, and for food and drink.

But Baku’s event was incredibly well organised. Shuttle buses from various hubs across the city zipped down the ‘COP 29’ traffic lanes, through road closures and sometimes accompanied by police escorts. (This may or may not be an exaggeration; but we definitely found ourselves driving alongside said motorcades on many occasions). 

There were also staff everywhere you looked, ready to help you find the nearest coffee stand, a specific pavilion, or the right bus to take. All this meant that we could focus more easily on the work at hand; creating meaningful connections with partners and experts.

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Carbon Markets: A Central Theme

COP29 opened with news that an agreement was reached to get a carbon market mechanism off the ground (under Article 6). After over two weeks of negotiations, the conference closed with more concrete agreements - although much more is yet to be agreed.

It meant that carbon markets were a key focus, so there was lots of opportunity to hear about how different organisations and countries are working together to rebuild trust in these markets. 

The Singapore Pavillion saw the Prime Minister of Bhutan speaking about the work he’s been championing, to allow countries like Bhutan - that have spent decades stewarding the land, instead of developing it - to reap monetary benefits for these efforts. Bhutan signed an agreement to sell its credits to Singapore following the conference.

We also saw Wes Geisenberger from the HBAR Foundation (at the Hedera Regenerative Finance Forum) conduct a fireside chat with Verra CEO Mandy Rambharos, and got insights into her perspective on the role of digitisation in carbon markets. 

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The role of public ledgers

Hedera’s work gave web3 climate solutions a real voice and presence at an incredibly busy event. The richness of topics that sit underneath climate is incredibly wide and deep. And the scale of the challenges we’re facing requires an ‘everything, all at once’ approach. 

There’s such a huge opportunity to create some very real and high impact use cases of distributed ledger technology. From our perspective it lies in both carbon markets (both voluntary and mandatory) and supply chains. 

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Looking ahead

There was a real sense of urgency and a bias towards action at this conference, with everyone looking for partnerships and opportunities for implementation. It’s something we’re excited to carry into this year. And, hopefully, we’ll have something to show for it at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

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Guest post by Krasina Mileva, DOVU co-founder and COO, one of our DLT Earth ecosystem members

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