Climate Matters•November 6, 2024
COP29: Global Climate Conference
KEY CONCEPTS
COP29, the U.N. climate conference starting November 11, aims to close the gap between global climate goals and climate action.
Climate Central resources show why COP29 outcomes matter locally — in the U.S. and around the world.
Despite progress, we are still projected to overshoot our 1.5°C warming limit set forth in the Paris Agreement.
Climate Central interviews during COP29
Climate Central’s Bernadette Woods Placky (Chief Meteorologist, Climate Matters Director, and VP Engagement) will be at COP29 and available for interviews. Please contact Peter Girard (pgirard@climatecentral.org) to set up an interview during Tuesday, November 12 from noon-1:00 pm ET.
Record highs: carbon pollution, global temperatures
The relentless rise in heat-trapping pollution (primarily from burning oil, coal, and methane gas) is pushing new temperature records for the planet.
Global temperatures shattered records in 2023, reaching 1.4°C (2.5°F) above pre-industrial levels — dangerously close to the internationally agreed goal of limiting warming to a long-term average of 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels. (This limit reflects a ten-year average of global temperatures, meaning the occurrence of 1.5°C of warming in a single year does not necessarily equate to exceeding the limit.)
Remarkable as 2023 was, 2024 is likely to be even hotter, according to the latest NOAA estimates.
Lives across the globe continue to be affected as carbon pollution traps more heat and warms the planet. A few of the impacts in the U.S. this year have included:
At least 24 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters through October 2024.
Earth’s hottest season on record (June-August 2024) — during which human-caused climate change boosted risky heat for billions across the globe.
Devastating coastal and inland impacts of back-to-back Hurricanes Helene and Milton, both of which formed and intensified in the Gulf of Mexico over record-warm waters made hundreds of times more likely by climate change.
Reducing risk on a warming planet
Today’s climate impacts — on health, safety, and economies — reflect about 1.2°C (2.1°F) of global warming averaged over the last decade.
These impacts worsen with every bit of additional warming. As the planet warms, hurricanes continue to intensify, wildfires increase in frequency and intensity, and dangerous extreme heat events become hotter, longer, and more frequent.
Rising climate risks prompted nearly 200 countries to sign on to the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below 2°C (3.6°F) with an aspirational limit of 1.5°C (2.7°F).
But according to the 2024 U.N. Emissions Gap Report, there’s still a glaring gap between these risk-reducing targets and global climate action.
Even if all countries that signed onto the Paris Agreement met their commitments starting now, the planet would still warm by 2.6 to 2.8°C (4.7 to 5°F) by 2100 — far overshooting the 1.5°C and 2°C goals.
There’s been progress under the Paris Agreement — policies in place prior to the Paris Agreement had the world on track to heat up a catastrophic 3.7 to 4.8°C, or 6.7 to 8.6°F, this century. However, far more progress is needed — and fast.
Analysis in the U.N. report shows that action taken this decade will strongly influence what path of warming we take for future decades and influence whether the Paris Agreement goals remain within reach. COP29, the global climate conference starting November 11, is an opportunity to accelerate climate action during this crucial decade.
COP29: Taking stock and raising ambition
Last year’s COP concluded the first Global Stocktake, a process in which countries assess their progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement and ramp up their contributions toward those collective goals.
The Global Stocktake reports that countries are not on track towards achieving the purpose and long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. It proposes ambitious calls for action to keep 1.5°C of warming within reach.
U.S. climate goals
As part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement, the U.S. has set a goal to cut heat-trapping emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030.
Although current policies won’t get the U.S. all the way to its 2030 target, they’re projected to spur clean energy growth across the country that will continue reducing heat-trapping pollution long after 2030.
And public and private investment in clean energy technologies like solar, wind, zero-emission vehicles, and heat pumps has never been higher. Clean energy investment in the U.S. more than tripled from 2018 to 2023 to reach $248 billion and has accelerated to record-breaking levels through June 2024.
Why COP matters locally
The Climate Shift Index shows how climate change is directly impacting your area
Clean energy investments across the country help lower emissions
The new Climate Shift Index: Ocean quantifies the influence of climate change on local ocean warming and extreme ocean heat, which fuel stronger hurricanes
LOCAL STORY ANGLES
Official COP resources:
Further official information on COP29 will be posted here as it becomes available
Other COP resources for the media:
FIND EXPERTS
Submit a request to SciLine from the American Association for the Advancement of Science or to the Climate Data Concierge from Columbia University. These free services rapidly connect journalists to relevant scientific experts.
Browse maps of climate experts and services at regional NOAA, USDA, and Department of the Interior offices.
Explore databases such as 500 Women Scientists, BIPOC Climate and Energy Justice PhDs, and Diverse Sources to find and amplify diverse expert voices.
Reach out to your State Climate Office or the nearest Land-Grant University to connect with scientists, educators, and extension staff in your local area.
METHODOLOGY
Annual global mean temperature anomalies (relative to 1850-1900) from 1950-2023 from the HadCRUT5 dataset were obtained from the UK Met Office’s Climate Dashboard. Projected annual global warming above pre-industrial levels by 2100 were obtained from the 2024 U.N. Emissions Gap Report.