After the controversial agreement at COP29 in Baku, NE Global sat down with Professor Gregg Walker, a COP veteran, for a close analysis of the results produced in the Azeri capital.
Walker is a professor of Communications and an adjunct professor in Environmental Sciences, Forestry, Oceanography, Public Policy, and Water Resources programs at Oregon State University. He is a member of the National Collaboration Cadre of the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. Walker leads observer teams at UN climate change meetings for Mediators Beyond Borders International and the International Environmental Communication Association. He also serves as the Modalities Expert for the Paris Committee on Capacity Building, a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Constituted Body, and is member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.
NE GLOBAL: How do you evaluate from the political point of view the result of the COP29?
GREGG WALKER: This is my 15th consecutive COP, and I have been following the negotiations going back to COP3 in Kyoto. Of course, the negotiations are affected by the political winds, both domestic and international factors and pressure. Add to that the consensus process and the result is that progress is inherently slow. The results of the U.S. presidential election affected the negotiations somewhat, but not in a way similar to the 2016 COP in Marrakech. People I talked with in Baku were disappointed but not surprised. The momentum and progress regarding a changing energy mix (e.g., more renewables, less dependence on fossil fuels) will continue. I think that China and the EU will fill the void somewhat during the second Trump term, with China emerging as the global leader in climate change negotiations and international policy development.
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