In the weeks before students from the University of Miami School of Law and College of Engineering depart for Baku, Azerbaijan, to attend the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate and environmental law expert Tracy Bach, will deliver a lunch talk and teach a short course at the law school.
The November 1 lecture "From Dubai to Baku: 'Ratcheting' Up the Promise of the Paris Agreement's Legal Architecture" will examine the inaugural Global Stocktake at last year's COP28 that assessed progress on the Paris Agreement's goals, revealing that efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C are insufficient.
Bach sees COP29 as crucial as nations update their nationally determined contributions based on these findings to increase ambition. Concurrently, countries are submitting their first biennial transparency reports to detail their progress on NDC commitments. This combined approach aims to hold nations accountable. She asks, "What outcomes should we expect from COP29 to show the treaty is effective?"
Students in the delegation traveling to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the November 11 opening of COP29 will attend the short course that focuses on climate change from an international perspective through the lens of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Bach has consulted the United Nations' U.N. Development Program, including debriefs of agreements, COP preparation, and mainstreaming agreement implementation guidelines.
Following the visit, Professor Jessica Owley and a dozen-student delegation will depart to this year's meeting, "In Solidarity for a Green World," where they will have the unique opportunity to see how an international treaty is negotiated and to engage in problem-solving for the most significant problem of our era: climate change. Owley is director of the School of Law's environmental law program.
The COP29 is a pivotal opportunity to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis. With global temperatures hitting record highs, and extreme weather events affecting people around the globe, COP29 brings together leaders from governments, business and civil society to advance concrete solutions to the defining issue of our time.
A key focus of COP29 will be on finance, as trillions of dollars are required for countries to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change.
The conference will also be a pivotal moment for countries to present their updated national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, which are due by early 2025. If done right, these plans will limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and double as investment plans advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The November 1 lecture is open to the University community in person or virtually with registration and is co-sponsored by The Environmental Law Society, Abbess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy, the Department of Environmental Science & Policy at the Rosenstiel School, the University of Miami Office of Sustainability, the Climate Resilience Institute, and the Miami Law Intellectual Life Program.
Read more about Miami Law's environmental law area of study.
