COP 29: Solutions for Climate Solidarity

COP 29, the United Nations’ annual climate change conference, is underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. Running until November 22nd, the world’s signature environmental event takes place this year under the slogan “in solidarity for a green world.”

As delegates gather beside the Caspian Sea against the backdrop of Baku’s iconic Flame Towers, media reports note the headwinds against collective climate action. The specter of a second Trump administration, cynicism toward the petrostate host—not to mention today’s challenges of practically actioning the event’s promised global solidarity—have some already looking to the next COP in Brazil to truly get things done. Others dismiss the process entirely.

While there are significant obstacles to overcome, we at the Smart Prosperity Institute believe in the promise and necessity of climate solidarity—looking beyond oneself and working collectively to pursue meaningful action towards a greener world for all. Climate change is a defining issue of our times, and while its effects are unequal, no one is unaffected, and everyone should be part of the solution. Imperfect as they are, these talks offer an opportunity to hear one another, engage in constructive dialogue and drive positive change.

We owe it to ourselves and future generations to bring diverse voices together to mitigate and fight the effects of climate change, while protecting the natural world. Though we’re often tempted to remain in our respective silos and face challenges alone, we must overcome this and leverage the strengths of sometimes unlikely allies to ultimately live more sustainably.

The need for collective action

Collective action, such as what COP strives for, is central to our vision to build a stronger, cleaner economy that thrives within nature's limits. The Smart Prosperity Institute lives this approach daily through dialogue with all levels of government on non-partisan policy recommendations, working with diverse academics and institutes from across the world, collaboration with private industry and meaningful engagement through our partnership with Generate Canada and its Solution Spaces. 

While we’re not in Baku, we’re cheering on global representatives as they strive to move the needle on much-needed solutions to the critical issues we all face. We’ve made a virtual cameo however. Our own Hem Dholakia appeared by video to share our recent green skills research at a LinkedIn-hosted session with partners in the Canada Pavilion—another example of positive collaboration in action!

Key green economy resources

As the event proceeds at pace, below is a selection of SPI and our partners’ recent work slotted under the theme days explored at COP 29. It’s our hope these resources help you and your respective partners ground lofty global conversations back here in Canada, and collectively advance positive change at home in your communities, workplaces and everyday lives.  

November 14: Finance, Investment and Trade

• Blog: Canada’s next step toward a greener economy – What the recent sustainable finance taxonomy government announcement means for green and transition finance
• Report: Climate Data Requirements, Gaps, and Challenges to Support Climate-Related Financial Disclosures – Analyzing gaps and challenges in available data for climate-related financial disclosures in Canada
• Report: Exploring Canada’s Circular Export Potential – High-level scan of Canadian industry strengths that can contribute to the global circular economy transition
• Report: Building Climate Resilience in Canada's Pension Funds – Canadian pension funds must build climate resilience to protect both people and the planet
• Partner blog: Top Ten Reasons Why Conservation Finance is Needed to Reach Our Nature Goals – Why conservation finance is needed to achieve Canada’s nature-related objectives

November 15: Energy / Peace, Relief and Recovery

• Policy Brief: Solar and Wind Energy in Canada – Exploring value recovery and end-of-life considerations of renewable energy
• Blog: U.S. regulatory activity highlights the need for Canada to responsibly advance clean energy infrastructure – Responsibly building the energy infrastructure to operationalize a net-zero transition

November 16: Science, Technology and Innovation / Digitalisation

• Report: Canada's Future in a Net-Zero World – Identifying strategic opportunities for Canada’s transition to net-zero
• Report: Buying Better: Leveraging federal procurement to drive demand for Canadian cleantech – Leveraging federal procurement to drive demand for cleantech in Canada
• Partner story: Collaborating to innovate Alberta’s electricity future – How an AI-powered “sandbox” could help us imagine and plan for the electricity grids our future demands

November 18: Human Capital / Children and Youth / Health / Education

• Blog: Canada budgets to build green skills – A look at investments to address the green skills gap
• Report: Planning for sustainable jobs 101 – A how-to guide for groups leading and supporting green labour and skills transitions
• Report series: Skills Needs for Workers in British Columbia's Growing Mass Timber Industry – Insights into the skills needs for workers in British Columbia’s growing mass timber sector
• Report series: Skills Needs for Workers in the Growing Plant-Based Protein Industry in Manitoba and Saskatchewan – Insights into the skills needs for workers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s growing plant-based protein industry
• Report series: Skills Needs for Workers in Ontario's Growing Zero-Emissions Vehicles Sector – Insights into skills needs for workers in Ontario’s growing zero-emissions vehicles and battery manufacturing sectors

November 19: Food, Agriculture and Water

• Partner podcast: The Ag Podcast – Produced by our partners at Generate Canada with support from Co-operators and SPI, tune in for frank conversations about farming in Canada.
• Report: Carbon Offsets for Farmers – Assessing opportunities available across carbon offset systems to help farmers navigate carbon markets.
• Report: A Circular Agriculture and Agri-food Economy for Canada –  Research and policy recommendations to support the transition to a more circular agriculture and agri-food sector
• Report: Clean Growth in Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-food Sector – Exploring policies to motivate adoption of environmentally beneficial management practices and increase clean technology across Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector

November 20: Urbanization / Transport / Tourism

• Report: Less is More: Where We Build 5.8 Million Homes Matters – Better understanding the biggest sources of GHG emissions associated with building the new homes needed by 2030
• Blog: Accelerating EV infrastructure in Canada – Achieving net-zero targets will require strategically building charging infrastructure to help Canadians embrace zero-emission vehicles
• Partner story: Getting our office buildings to give more and take less – Finding more sustainable ways to create the workspaces we need

November 21: Nature and Biodiversity / Indigenous People / Gender Equality / Oceans and Coastal Zones

• Report series: Inuit-led Economic Development: An Overview of Nunavut’s Blue Conservation Economy – Exploring the value of Nunavut’s ‘blue conservation economy’
• Report: Unlocking the Economic Power of Natural Climate Solutions –  Making the economic case for increasing investment in protecting, managing and restoring nature
• Blog: Untapped potential of Indigenous agriculture – Indigenous-led agriculture and conservation key to reconciliation and to meeting climate and biodiversity targets
• Report: Shed Light, Build Resilience – Uncovering the gendered and intersectional impacts of climate change on livelihoods in Canada
• Blog: Cultural burns and wildfire management – Enhancing Indigenous communities’ capacity to mitigate and manage wildfires is a necessary and cost-effective solution

These resources are a small selection of available materials related to the major themes of the conference. For a full catalog of releases, explore SPI’s Research + Publications Library. As with all major climate events, we’ll continue monitoring developments from Baku to see how they impact our green economy work here at home. And in the spirit of climate solidarity, please don’t hesitate to reach out to connect on environment and economy matters. We’d love to hear from you. Stay current on our latest thinking by signing up for the Smart Prosperity Institute’s monthly newsletter.