Can COP29 really be a technical COP without local expertise?
World leaders will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, later this month to negotiate policies and initiatives to mitigate and adapt to climate change. But the missing voices of those at the forefront of the climate and water crises serve as a glaring reminder of the progress still needed to meet targets set in Paris at COP21.
The climate crisis is a water crisis. And people on the frontline of climate change are vital to solve it.
This quote from my colleague Dulce Marrumbe, Head of Advocacy and Communications at WaterAid Mozambique, has never rung so true. Communities will not be able to adapt to climate change if solutions designed and implemented by local experts are not taken into account in global climate discussions.
This year’s UN climate talks, COP29, have been labelled as a “technical COP” or “financial COP”; some of the more technical aspects of climate policy will be discussed and agreed, including a new climate finance goal, a reporting mechanism for action on adaptation, and progress on national climate plans.
But this year, the regional climate weeks – a vital space for communities, civil society organisations, local experts and young people to take part in discussions with decision makers, and ground the final COP declaration in local realities – were cancelled “until further notice”.
The number of delegates at COP29 is also anticipated to be half the size of last year’s COP – further shrinking the space dedicated to civil society at these important climate summits. Both these changes risk having yet another final COP declaration, and decisions around funding and climate initiatives, that don’t account for the realities of communities experiencing climate change most severely.
So, can COP29 really be a “technical COP” with fewer and fewer local experts involved in its process?
While we welcome the establishment of the COP29 NGO Coalition, this secondary process cannot replace either the in-person conversations where people share their lived experiences and local solutions, or the lasting effects of those conversations on the final decisions of policy makers.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) may seem very simple, but in reality, it’s a multi-faceted technical topic. How do you get clean running water in remote areas? How do you ensure water sources are protected from pollution and climate shocks? How do you maintain infrastructure over time, or plan around the dry season? To fully address these challenges in the face of climate change, we need the expertise, solutions and lived experiences of people on the frontline to be heard and considered. Samia Anwar Rafa, WaterAid’s youth advocate and co-founder of WaterWomen in Bangladesh, explained to the new UK Prime Minister in her open letter:
"Every cyclone brings harrowing winds and devastating rain, but what follows is even worse. Young women my age (28) and girls on the southern coast of Bangladesh are often trapped inside their homes for days, deprived of safe drinking water and access to toilets. During their periods, this struggle intensifies; there’s barely enough water to drink, let alone maintain menstrual hygiene. Even in calmer times, increased salinity due to climate change is making local water sources unusable.”
We know that no real progress can be made at COP – or any climate conference – without national experts and local communities who drive solutions that work for their contexts and empower their communities.
Rita Nishimwe, Leader of the Climate-Resilient WASH Practices Hub of Rwanda Young Water Professionals, explains: “Although climate change is a global crisis, its solutions must be adapted to the local context to ensure the environment and socio-economic needs are met. It is important that the solutions for these challenges are grounded in the realities of local communities. Showcasing locally led solutions at COP highlights the effectiveness of context-specific approaches, like the nature-based solutions we are implementing in Kigali. These solutions not only address climate risks but also empower communities, enhance resilience, and promote sustainable development. By sharing our experiences, we contribute to the global dialogue on scalable and replicable solutions that are sensitive to local cultures, ecosystems, and economic conditions.”
Young people are also key to those discussions. Barkat Bin Saïda Matazaky, Head of Programmes for CliMates Madagascar, highlights the need to include young people in decision-making:
"Young people are brimming with innovative ideas, energy, and deep commitment – essential assets for the sustainable development of every nation. Investing in their contributions is not just a necessity but a crucial strategy to ensure the concrete implementation of policies over the long term. CliMates Madagascar stands as a concrete example of youth engagement in climate discussions, particularly during COPs. In 2023, we launched the 'Presidential of Climate’, an initiative aimed at presenting the climate and environmental programme of presidential candidates in a simple and engaging way. I will be closely monitoring the commitments made by governments and stakeholders, ensuring that their decisions truly reflect their promises, and the global climate goals. Through this, I will become a key player in the implementation of policies, ensuring that the solutions proposed align with our expectations for a sustainable and resilient future.”
We cannot have another COP that sidelines national experts, community leaders, young people, activists and local innovators. Otherwise, we are doomed to remain on the current trajectory, which is massively off track all the climate targets we set ourselves in Paris at COP21.
That’s why this year, in the lead up to COP29, our #MyCOPMessage campaign is sharing the demands of community experts who will not be able to attend COP29 or the regional climate weeks.
COP needs more Rafas, Ritas, and Saïdas around the table. So, we call on the COP29 President, Mukhtar Babayev, and all government delegations to ensure COP remains an inclusive process for national experts, CSOs, young people, women, indigenous communities, and small island and other marginalised representatives. Only when their expertise is integrated into COP conversations can we design and finance community-led solutions that ensure they can become resilient to climate change.
Julie Henri is Senior Climate Campaigner at WaterAid.
Top image: Odubena Toyin, a water engineer in Ikorodu North, Lagos, Nigeria. March 2024.
