Researchers from several disciplines and institutional representatives from Université Côte d’Azur have been accredited to participate in the last four Conferences of the Parties (COP) dedicated to climate change. They are thus authorized to access the blue zone, which allows them to speak with the negotiators, to access the debates and the “side events” organized in the many pavilions of the accredited states and organizations. 

The Climate COP is a global event that brings together the greatest diversity of actors for a few days each year: state representatives, dignitaries of indigenous populations, lobbyists, philanthropists, journalists, members of non-governmental associations, political leaders and… a few representatives from the academic world, mainly researchers.

Negotiations that run throughout the year and decisions taken by consensus

Although, from a media perspective, the COP only seems to take place a few days a year, the negotiations actually begin well before the conference. It is indeed throughout the year that national positions are developed, often based on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) provided for in the Paris Agreement and defining the efforts made by each country to reduce its national emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. The COP then begins with plenary sessions, followed by thematic working groups (finance, adaptation, etc.). In parallel, informal consultations, behind closed doors and in small groups, are also conducted to resolve deadlocks.

Decisions are taken by consensus of the 198 parties represented (197 signatory countries plus the European Union), meaning that an agreement must be acceptable to all, even if it does not fully satisfy each party. The final texts are then submitted for approval in plenary session and may include specific mechanisms such as the carbon market.

How the host country is chosen

The country that hosts, and therefore presides over, the COP plays a key role in the negotiations by facilitating dialogue between the parties, including proposing compromises towards a final agreement.

It is chosen on a rotating basis from five UN groups: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe. Countries are invited to submit their applications while the final decision is made by consensus among member countries.

In addition to geographic rotation, the host country must meet logistical and security criteria. Finally, although the application is not exclusively reserved for exemplary climate countries, hosts must demonstrate their commitment to climate action.

Latest COPs focus on loss and damage and first assessment of the Paris Agreement

During the last two editions of the COP, important work has resulted in the establishment of the loss and damage fund, discussed at COP27 and voted on the first day of COP28 (Dubai, UAE, 2023). It provides for a contribution from the richest countries to feed a fund operated by the World Bank and aimed at compensating the countries most affected by climate change .

Even though this fund has so far received a very insufficient allocation in relation to its needs, it is a first step in recognising the damage resulting from climate change and implementing an international solidarity mechanism. The first call for contributions thus totalled around 700 million dollars, and France pledged more than 100 million euros.

Another highlight of COP28 was the presentation of the first global stocktake: the roadmap decided at COP21 provides for an assessment every 5 years of the collective progress made to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement regarding mitigation, adaptation and protection (for example against sea level rise) and the means of implementation. As a reminder, global emissions must be halved by 2030 to comply with the Paris Agreement.

In Dubai in 2023, the joint declaration finally adopted indicated, on the most controversial subject of fossil fuels, the need to “move away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a fair, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action during this critical decade, in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with science.”

At COP29, fewer scientists present?

With the selection of Azerbaijan as the host country for COP29, which will be held in Baku from 11 to 22 November 2024, many questions have been raised, once again, about the choice of a country whose economy is significantly based on the exploitation of fossil resources. Unlike the United Arab Emirates, which hosted COP28 in Dubai on the site of the 2020 World Expo and which ultimately brought together over 100,000 participants, the infrastructure in Baku cannot accommodate as many participants. This has led to a considerable reduction in the number of accreditations made available to observer organisations, including the few higher education and research institutions active during COPs.

Indeed, the initial allocation of quotas for COP29 has seen a substantial decrease (nearly 40%) compared to the previous edition. On the other hand, a notable effort has been made to ensure that all regions and groups are represented. For example, a greater number of accreditations have been granted to so-called Southern universities. Similarly, beyond accreditations, pavilions held by universities have not been selected for the blue zone this year.

Yet it is these institutions that are probably best placed to develop the training, knowledge and technologies essential to combating climate change and adapting to its consequences. The role of science is essential to provide answers to these major challenges. In this context, universities around the world, centers of science where research and innovation are carried out, will have more difficulty making their voices heard. They will still be able to count on the Alliance of Azerbaijani Universities for Climate, supported by the COP presidency, which was made official during the Baku Climate Week.

The agenda for COP29 will include topics such as increasing international funding to combat climate change, phasing out fossil fuels and expanding global emission rights.

The need for multilateralism

The environment is a whole that knows no boundaries; air masses move according to atmospheric pressure conditions, aqueous systems are interconnected and the water cycle includes the three physical states. This is how this substance moves from snow-capped peaks to rivers, seas and oceans before evaporating to form clouds. The implementation of isolated local actions is therefore very unlikely to effectively lead to the moderation of climate change and adaptation to its consequences. It is therefore through the establishment of a multilateral dialogue that global solutions can be envisaged. In other words, bringing everyone around the table to integrate the knowledge, constraints, needs and aspirations of each.

To foster discussions between negotiators on these complex subjects, science must both make its teachings accessible to as many people as possible while adopting scientific approaches specific to understanding global issues.

But the paradigm shift that has been taking place since Galileo regarding our place in the universe calls in particular for transdisciplinary approaches that allow knowledge to be aggregated and interconnected when they address difficult questions about objects or systems that are necessarily complex by their nature and diversity. Where traditional disciplines can be defined by observable or formalized objects, specific methods and procedures , transdisciplinarity favors a multi-level approach, coordinated towards a common objective.

As sociologist Edgar Morin points out , it has played a fruitful role in the history of science, and remains more crucial than ever for addressing an issue as global as that of the climate. Global warming in connection with the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (greenhouse effect) was first theorized by a chemist (the Swede Svante Arrhenius at the end of the 19th century). But the fight against global warming involves questions of global governance, law, sociology, agronomy, and energy, which can be the subject of studies by many other disciplines.** The different transdisciplinary approaches also make it possible to evolve towards more inclusive, dynamic and collaborative models of knowledge transmission , which enrich knowledge and research processes. Transdisciplinarity thus represents an opportunity for solving complex environmental challenges such as climate change, discussed at the international level during the COPs.

On the eve of the official opening of COP29 in Azerbaijan, and following year-long preparation, the place of science as a guide in assessing the situation and designing measures to adapt to and limit climate change must nevertheless be further strengthened, in line with the explicit mention of it in the final declaration of COP28 (see above).

Higher education and research institutions are places of knowledge production, innovation development, training and transmission. Scientists are naturally experienced in contradictory debate, in the search for elements of understanding and prediction allowing the development of the most relevant, neutral and objective solutions or visions. They must therefore play a more important role in the debates, in supporting negotiators and in informing political decision-makers. Thus, decision-making based on scientific knowledge must no longer be an option but an obligation in the common interest of all humanity.

Author Bios: Sylvain Antoniotti is Director of Research at the CNRS in Chemistry, Cecile Sabourault is a University Professor of Biology, Christopher Den Auwer is Professor of Chemistry, Clara Descamps is a Project Manager for the Côte d’Azur Ecological and Citizen Transition Observatory and Sara-Anne Comel is the Operational Director Europe and International of IdEx all at Côte d’Azur University