Future Cleantech Architects at COP29 in Baku
The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from the 11th to 22nd of November, 2024. As in the past years, Future Cleantech Architects attended the conference, co-hosted one Official Side Event on Leveraging Public-Private Synergies to Accelerate the Global Energy Transition and a roundtable on The Future of Industrial Heat: How to Align Decarbonization and Competitiveness. The FCA delegation also actively participated in a number of events and interviews to push cleantech innovation harder. Find below our key takeaways!
Positive tipping points: a sign of hope in dire political conditions
Dear Reader,
COP29 was special in many ways. Despite a tiring negotiation process and meagre results at the top political level, our team has also seen so many encouraging signs and plenty of dedicated plans to take action in bi- and multilateral collaboration, as well as at the national and regional levels. We have created this overview of topics we have covered at the 29th Conference of the Parties: from innovative high-temperature heat solutions to public-private partnerships, from comprehensive approaches for tapping biofuels for heavy industry to the cross-national potential of RD&D.
As of December 2024, the geopolitical macro environment is everything but encouraging for ambitious climate policy. But cleantech continues its impressive development at the technology level: various systems continue their journey along impressive learning curves. We see the potential that further positive tipping points can be surpassed shortly – other than those tipping elements you know of from IPCC reports, those positive points represent a critical threshold in the adoption of new climate-friedly technologies.
Looking forward to drive cleantech innovation together,
Peter Schniering,
Founder & CEO
Our Delegation:
Our Events:
Official Side Event: Leveraging Public-Private Synergies to Accelerate the Global Energy Transition
Mon, 18 Nov 2024
16:45-18:15
Room: SIDE EVENT 7
This session, co-hosted by the Climate Change Center, Climate Leadership Coalition, and Future Cleantech Architects, discussed the success factors of global cooperation for impactful PPP in the energy transition (South Korea, Finland, and others). Using specific sector examples, global stakeholders examined the importance of implementing industry standards in mitigation, technology transfer & expanding carbon market.
FCA speaker: Magnolia Tovar, Director of Technologies and Impact
ERLG Roundtable on The Future of Industrial Heat: How to Align Decarbonization and Competitiveness
14 November 2024
16:00 - 17:30
Place: Goals House, Baku, Azerbaijan
This roundtable, co-organized by the Energy Resilience Leadership Group (ERLG), the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt and Future Cleantech Architects, addressed the challenges for industrial heat and explored the policies and technologies needed to align competitiveness and decarbonization. The aim of this discussion was to highlight the importance of industrial heat for the manufacturing sector, and its impact on achieving net-zero targets and ensuring energy security.
FCA speaker: Peter Schniering, Founder & CEO
External Events:
Roundtable on Setting up Common Definition for Sustainable Biofuels to Accelerate Biofuels Adoption", by the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA)
Friday, 15 Nov 2024
10:45-12:15
Room: GBA Pavilion, Green Zone
The accelerated deployment of sustainable fuels hinges, in part, on establishing a common understanding of what constitutes ‘sustainability’ in the context of biofuels. The absence of consensus on these definitions poses a challenge. In this context, there is a need to critically assess all available pathways based on parameters such as performance, feedstock, technology, etc., especially considering the processing complexities involved in biofuels production. As we evaluate these approaches, it is crucial to define a clear path forward with inputs and buy-in from multiple stakeholders to set up a common definition for sustainable biofuels.
This session organized by the Global Biofuels Alliance focused on topics such as:
- Defining and prioritizing effective sustainability metrics for biofuels
- Ensuring flexible and fair sustainability standards for diverse biofuels
- Industry partnership with GBA to develop sustainable biofuel definition
FCA speaker: Peter Schniering, Founder & CEO
Side Event Strengthening National Systems of Innovation for Collaborative RD&D on Climate Technology, by UN Climate Change
November 20,
12:00-12:45
Greek Pavilion
The event showed how CTCN technical assistance projects focused on NSI have helped countries promote innovation and foster collaborative climate technology RD&D partnerships at international, regional, and national levels. The objective was to present good practices for setting-up and strengthening NSI, thereby fostering the establishment of enabling conditions for collaborative RD&D.
FCA speaker: Magnolia Tovar, Director of Technologies and Impact