This article first appeared in our COP29 special issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Main image: EDO’s Johnny Dabrowski leading a Climate Education Coalition protest at COP28
By the time you read this, COP29 will most likely already be underway and we will be in the trenches with numerous NGOs and civil society members, advocating tirelessly for the health of our planet.
This is an ideal moment to review what we hope to achieve at the Conference of the Parties (COP); here’s a rundown of the message that EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO) is bringing to COP29 and what we are tackling head-on – the good, the bad and the ugly.
First off, let’s set the scene: every September, the environmental world descends into a sort of frenzy. We scramble to secure COP accreditation and navigate the often-torturous travel arrangements to attend these COPs.
It’s a stressful time – juggling staff, multitasking like pros and sharing a handful of passes for all the meetings and panels we need to attend.
Every NGO is in the same boat, and there’s a real spirit of camaraderie as we band together to make it all work.
So, why is it worth all the chaos and confusion?
COP crucially brings together all the players required to tackle climate change: government representatives, industry leaders, civil society members and NGOs, all working together to address the climate crisis.
However, the primary focus is on the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – essentially the countries that have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement, which was opened for signature on Earth Day (22 April) in 2016 and entered into force on 04 November 2016.
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty aimed at combating climate change by limiting global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with efforts to cap the increase at 1.5°C. It requires countries to set and periodically update their climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Essentially it’s what each signatory agrees to do to limit their contribution to climate change.
COP29 is set to begin in Baku, Azerbaijan on 11 November and will continue until 22 November 2024.
As the name suggests, it is the 29th annual meeting of these parties and this conference highlights a striking trend: Baku is the third consecutive oil-rich nation to host a COP.
Last year COP28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the previous year COP27 took place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. This sequence underscores the pervasive power and influence of the fossil fuel industry.
Looking ahead to Brazil, the location for COP30, the status quo is still very much in play, given that Brazil holds South America’s second-largest oil reserves.
It’s important to acknowledge that the United States produces more crude oil than any other nation in the world, underscoring how hard it is to overlook the entrenched role of oil in our global economy.
When viewed through this lens, the choice of these locations for COP meetings – despite their apparent incongruity with the conference’s climate-friendly goals – reflects the powerful reach of the fossil fuel industry, which is relentlessly working to protect its financial interests.
EARTH DAY.ORG’s 2025 Earth Day theme is Our Power, Our Planet; we will advocate for renewable energy, which will be particularly challenging given the substantial fossil fuel influence pushing in the opposite direction.
Renewable energy of course comes from replenishable sources – the sun, wind, tides and heat from below the ground – which do not produce greenhouse gases and therefore do not drive climate change.
It can end our reliance on fossil fuels and the damage they cause to both our environment and human health.
Why has it been so hard to transition to this so-called ‘clean energy’?
Denis Hayes, the organiser of the very first Earth Day, perhaps put it best when he reminded us that for decades we’ve been fed the lie that only fossil fuels can power the planet.
In fact, by the 2030s solar power, not oil, is expected to become the largest source of electricity generation on Earth.
This is the good news: clean energy is not make-believe. It’s real, viable and already happening.
Consider this: 25% of the electricity generated in the United States alone in the first six months of 2023 was clean energy.
49 nations already generate more than half of their electricity from renewables, including Canada, Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand, Brazil, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Iceland obtains a staggering 99.99% of its electricity from renewable sources.
So, we can say with a degree of genuine optimism that by 2035 all of our energy needs, even in countries such as the United States, can be met by renewable sources.
That’s why we’re calling for global clean energy generation to be tripled by 2030, and we’re taking this message to Baku – despite the likely resistance.
Here’s the bad news: aside from producing 800,000 barrels of oil a day, placing it at number 25 on the global oil producer rankings, Azerbaijan’s record is troubling for other reasons.
The country has been actively engaged in territorial conflicts with its much smaller neighbour, Armenia, and it has an abysmal human rights track record.
This raises more significant questions about why COP is being held there. Nonetheless, the conference is set to proceed in Baku.
This brings us to the ugly. 3.8 billion people across this planet do not reach the Modern Energy Minimum (MEM), meaning their per capita electricity usage is under 1,000 kWh – the threshold for mitigating poverty.
They have no regular or affordable source of energy and their lives are undoubtedly blighted as a result.
Renewable energy can radically change this situation by improving living standards and enhancing health outcomes in a variety of different ways.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions slashes the health risks associated with climate change, such as heatwaves, floods and the spread of infectious diseases.
At the same time, reduced air pollution decreases respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, including asthma and strokes.
Access to affordable electricity allows hospitals all over the planet to provide better healthcare for their patients, especially women in childbirth, plus a whole host of other positives such as powering and sterilising equipment, refrigerating vaccines and being able to perform life-saving surgeries.
This is why attending every single COP, despite the long hours and the often-complex geopolitical context, is ultimately worthwhile.
We must continuously strive to elevate the conversation around renewable energy and ensure its true viability is recognised and promoted.
This is the moment to champion what EARTHDAY.ORG stands for: equity and the right of every person to access affordable, clean electricity.
Hopefully, by the time you read this, that message will be resonating loud and clear in Baku, and universal access to clean energy will have started to trend as a major focus at COP29.
Host country agreement with Azerbaijan for COP29 ‘must guarantee human rights and be publicly available’.
Jonathon Porritt explores whether hope has been politicised – and how we can avoid falling into despair.
New report recommends a new global norm to end new fossil fuel projects, confirming no more are needed in the transition to net zero.
Lee Franklin, college campus coordinator at EARTHDAY.ORG, explains why youth-led movements are inspiring hope for the future.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Weekly ethical news, offers, comps and a free digital mag (quarterly) – what’s not to love?
