Key outcomes from COP29 and Singapore’s commitments

4 December 2024

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“COP29”) took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024. The conference closed with a new finance goal to help countries protect themselves against climate disasters.

On 19 November 2024, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu delivered Singapore’s National Statement at COP29 where she reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to working with all Parties and partners to advance global climate action.

This article sets out key COP29 outcomes and Singapore’s commitments outlined in its National Statement.

Key outcomes from COP29

Key outcomes achieved at COP29 include the following:

• New finance goal on climate finance: With a central focus on climate finance, COP29 closed with a new finance goal to help countries protect themselves against climate disasters. Parties reached an agreement, known formally as the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (“NCQG”), that will:
  • triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of US$100 billion annually, to US$300 billion annually by 2035; and
  • secure efforts of all actors to work together to scale up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources, to the amount of US$1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
• Article 6 of Paris Agreement on carbon markets: Parties agreed on how carbon markets will operate under the Paris Agreement, making country-to-country trading and a carbon crediting mechanism fully operational. On country-to-country trading (Article 6.2), the agreement at COP29 provides clarity on how countries will authorise the trade of carbon credits and how registries tracking this will operate. In this regard, Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat (“NCCS”) and the world’s largest independent carbon crediting programmes, Gold Standard and Verra, are working together to develop an Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol aimed at supporting countries in their use of Article 6 to achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (“NDCs”) and sustainable development goals. Countries at COP29 also agreed standards for a centralised carbon market under the UN (Article 6.4 mechanism).
• Transparency in climate reporting: Under the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework, Parties are required to submit Biennial Transparency Reports (“BTRs”) and National Inventory Reports (“NIRs”) every two years starting from 2024. BTRs provide information on Parties’ greenhouse gas (“GHG”) inventory and progress made in implementing and achieving NDCs. It also includes any financial support, technology development and transfer, and capacity building support that Parties received and rendered to other Parties. NIRs provide additional details of Parties’ GHG inventory. At the close of COP29, 13 Parties, including Singapore, submitted their first BTRs (due from all Parties by 31 December 2024). BTRs and NIRs supersede Biennial Update Reports.
• Gender and climate change: Acknowledging the importance of gender equality and advancing gender mainstreaming throughout the convention, Parties agreed a decision on gender and climate change, extending the enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and Climate Change for another 10 years. Parties also agreed to develop a new gender action plan for adoption at COP30, which will set the direction for implementation.

Singapore’s commitments

At COP29, Singapore emphasised the importance of regional and global collaboration to address climate challenges and achieve shared climate goals. Here are some points highlighted in the National Statement of Singapore:

• Regional and global collaboration: Singapore reaffirms its commitment to working with all Parties and partners to advance global climate action. Despite being a city state with limited alternative energy resources, Singapore has expanded solar power deployment fivefold since 2019. In addition, Singapore is working to enhance energy efficiency across all sectors. Recognising the importance of cross-border collaboration, Singapore is actively involved in regional and global partnerships. Regionally, Singapore is working with its neighbours to develop an ASEAN Power Grid, which is a critical enabler of the region’s energy transition. Globally, Singapore is partnering other ports to pioneer the use of low-carbon fuels in decarbonising the shipping sector. Singapore also contributes to building knowledge and capabilities in the global community on climate mitigation and adaptation through the Singapore Cooperation Programme and climate research.
• Enabling climate finance: The NCQG is critical in COP29 and Singapore hopes to deliver an ambitious, effective, and fit-for-purpose NCQG outcome. Singapore is committed to doing its part to mobilise private capital for Asia’s transition. In 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore launched the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (“FAST-P”), a blended finance initiative which aims to mobilise up to US$5 billion to facilitate Asia’s transition. At COP29, Singapore pledged to contribute up to US$500 million in concessional capital to FAST-P to crowd in other concessional capital from public, private, and philanthropic sources of an equal amount. This will catalyse a much larger amount of private capital, to support green and transition projects. Finally, Singapore is working with partners to develop a credible carbon market, including through co-facilitating the Paris Agreement Article 6 negotiations and building a pipeline of high-quality, high integrity credits.
• BTR and NDC: Singapore has submitted its first BTR and will submit its 2035 NDC on time.

Reference materials

The press release issued at the close of COP29 is available on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website unfccc.int.

The National Statement of Singapore and Singapore’s First Biennial Transparency Report are available on the NCCS website www.nccs.gov.sg.