Authored by Allison Lawrence, Senior Legal Writer, Technology & Innovation Privacy Awareness Week , June 16-22, 2025 – As Australia observes Privacy Awareness Week, a critical conversation is taking...
Authored by Alison Cripps, Head of Workplace, In-House and Technology, Practical Guidance Privacy Awareness Week 2025: Australia's Bold Leap into a New Era of Privacy Law Australia has taken a bold...
As law firms navigate a highly competitive and evolving market, the need for technology that drives efficiency, reduces costs, and delivers exceptional client service has never been more crucial. A recent...
Q&A with Richard Douglas KC, Gerard Mullins KC, and Simon Grant Annotated Civil Liability Legislation - Queensland, 6th edition is the essential companion for practitioners engaged in the conduct of...
Q&A with Dr Greg Byrne and Dr Jacqui Horan Sexual Assault Trials: Challenges and Innovations offers a comprehensive examination of the systemic issues in sexual assault trials across common law jurisdictions...
Introduction
The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 24 November 2024, concluding 35 hours after its scheduled closing date due to intense negotiations. Key headlines included:
1. The New Climate Finance Goal
Overview
Known as the ‘Finance COP,’ COP29's primary agenda was negotiating a new annual target above the existing USD 100 billion floor. The result: a new collective quantified goal (NCQG).
Key outcomes
Negotiation Challenges (IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin, Vol 12 No. 865)
Reactions (IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin, Vol 12 No. 865)
Historical Context and Next Steps
2. Operationalising International Carbon Markets
Article 6 Overview
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables a cooperative approach to achieving NDCs by enabling emissions mitigation in one country to count towards another country’s NDCs. This is known as the internationally transferred mitigation outcome (ITMO).
Two key aspects of Article 6 are:
COP29 Agreements
The Paris Agreement rulebook was advanced at previous COPs. Final aspects of the rules recently agreed at COP29, include:
(a) Article 6.2 – Authorisation of ITMOs
Key features of the ITMO authorisation rules include:
It was clarified that mitigation outcomes could only be "first transferred" after receiving authorisation from the first transferring party. These steps aim to ensure the integrity and transparency of ITMO transactions.
(b) Article 6.4 – Mechanism Operations
The Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism has a Supervisory Body tasked with developing and overseeing the processes needed to operationalise the mechanism.
At COP29, the Supervisory Body was tasked with several critical actions to expedite the establishment of the mechanism, including:
To support its work, the Supervisory Body was also asked to engage further independent scientific and technical expertise and local communities, including the knowledge, sciences and practices of Indigenous Peoples.
Outlook
The first Article 6.4 projects are anticipated to be registered, and credits issued, as early as next year. As a result, it is an exciting time for international carbon markets, and we look forward to reporting on further developments.