As COP29 kicks-off in Baku, Imperial experts implore nations to act on finance, loss and damage, health and adaptation in their climate plans.

Imperial experts have called for renewed action to limit global warming and urged countries to quickly mobilise finance to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate impacts as the annual UN climate conference gets underway.

Hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, COP29 is widely considered the ‘finance COP’. The conference is expected to set a new goal to provide financial resources to help developing countries make the transition away from fossil fuels and respond to the escalating impacts of climate change.

Over the next two weeks, countries will need to agree on the amounts of money that are required as well as who should contribute and where the money should be spent.

In anticipation of the key areas of focus and contention, Imperial experts have weighed in on what needs to happen.

“Having an agreement about the amount of money and where that money’s coming from […] will be one of the most significant outcomes of COP29” – Mike Wilkins, Executive Director, Centre of Climate Finance & Investment, Imperial Business School.

“The shrinking carbon budget shows the importance and urgency of near-term emissions reductions” – Professor Joeri Rogelj, Director of Research, Grantham Institute – Climate change and the Environment.

“One of the important decisions that needs to happen at COP29 is who can access the loss and damage fund” – Dr Friederike Otto, founder and lead of World Weather Attribution. 

"Action has been growing on the climate and health […] but this action is still lagging behind need, especially for mental health” – Jessica Newbury Le Vay, the Climate Cares Centre, Institute of Global Health Innovation.