Leaders to convene at COP29 in Baku on aligning climate action, biodiversity conservation, and Indigenous knowledge for a nature-positive future
Baku, Azerbaijan 21 November 2024 – The COP29 Presidency and IUCN are co-hosting dedicated Nature Day events on 21 November 2024 at COP29 in Baku, focusing on “Nature and Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples, Gender Equality, Oceans and Coastal Zones”.
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) convenes in Baku, Azerbaijan, through 22 November 2024.
The events will highlight the importance of investing in biodiversity conservation and restoring the ecosystems that are the major drivers of human and planetary health, and effective ways of addressing climate change impacts and ensuring resilience. They will also put an emphasis on the ecological integrity and nature-based solutions as critical bridges between climate and biodiversity agendas, centering on biodiversity support and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) leadership. World leaders and representatives from IPLCs will gather for two high-level dialogues on the day.
Nature Day will bring global leaders on nature, climate and communities together, sharing what they are doing to champion these interconnected agendas and inspire partnerships and further action. They will underscore the urgent need to integrate Indigenous knowledge and innovative conservation practices into global efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.
To accelerate climate action, the COP29 Presidency has introduced several targeted initiatives within its Action Agenda to enhance progress alongside the formal COP agenda. Nature day will also highlight the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action initiative, underlining the importance of integrated approaches to water and biodiversity, and their role in mitigating the causes and impacts of climate change on water basins and water-related ecosystems, including on climate adaptation. It will also emphasise the crucial importance of supporting climate action and helping limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
The first event is titled the High-Level Dialogue on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Traditional Knowledge: The Heart of the Climate-Nature Nexus.This event will feature Indigenous leaders and community representatives who will emphasise the vital role of traditional knowledge in safeguarding critical ecosystems and protecting Mother Earth. Key insights from IPLC territories will emphasise how investments in land rights and self-determined conservation enhance community resilience to climate change. With both state and non-state sector representatives, the dialogue will focus on concrete actions to support IPLC contributions and rights within the climate-nature nexus, promoting the integration of Indigenous knowledge into global strategies.
COP29 provides a crucial opportunity to advance the priorities on biodiversity: Accountability, alignment of biodiversity and climate goals, and amplifying resource mobilisation. Delegates will emphasise bridging the climate-biodiversity funding gap and addressing the insufficient share of climate finance reaching IPLCs. Reports suggest that only 2.1% of funding tied to a climate finance pledge announced at the 2021 UN climate conference went directly to Indigenous and local communities in 2022.
The second high-level event is the Global Leaders Dialogue: Aligning Climate Action and Biodiversity Conservation for a Nature-Positive Future and the Paris Agreement Goals co-organised by COP29 Presidency, IUCN and IDEA Public Union, an IUCN Member. The Global Leaders Dialogue will convene state and non-state global leaders to drive forward the alignment of biodiversity conservation with climate action, focusing on advancing the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Leaders will share innovative strategies for financing and policy alignment, as well as public-private partnerships, in pursuit of the 2030 climate and biodiversity targets.