Latest content: COP

Throughout the two weeks of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Commonwealth Secretariat provided a platform and meeting place for young people. Several side events included young people from across the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries, and they took the opportunity to raise concerns, discuss ideas and share successes.  

The challenge before the Commonwealth of Nations is monumental. Climate change is no longer a distant threat — it is here, testing resilience, economies, and the future of humanity itself. Despite some important progress, the world is not yet on track to keep global temperatures below 2°C, let alone within the critical 1.5°C threshold. Achieving this will require unprecedented cooperation, courage, and commitment. The race to triple renewable capacity is hotting up. 

The voices of the Indigenous Peoples of the Iwokrama Forest, one of the last pristine rainforests in the world, echoed through the hallways of COP29 in Azerbaijan today, more than 6,500 miles from their native Guyana.

The Commonwealth Secretariat launched its Forest Carbon Market toolkit at COP29, providing a roadmap to accessing funding through the voluntary carbon market, while protecting the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and landowners. The Commonwealth is home to 810 million hectares of forests.

As participants gather with a shared commitment to safeguarding the planet's sustainability, the focus often rests on the earth's lands, waters, and climate. It's crucial to extend the gaze further – to the largely uncharted frontier of sustainability: the space above.

The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, which was agreed at last month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, paves the way for accelerated climate action to help save our planet, say Commonwealth Island leaders.

Sea-level rise is causing irrevocable damage to communities, lives and livelihoods, but also provides some opportunities for growth.

The international community must fulfil its promises to provide greater financial support to small island countries at the frontline of climate change.

Commonwealth countries must unite and use their collective voice to demand that climate finance promises are kept to prevent human suffering, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, said at COP29 in Baku today.

Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, points like a finger into the Caspian Sea. Today, as the world's climate negotiators, advocates and activists descend on the city for the UNFCCC's 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), this finger also points to a greener world - but only if we stand in solidarity with nature and each other.

Pension and sovereign funds can take concrete actions to scale up their adaptation financing, explains Daniel Wilde, Economic Adviser, Commonwealth Secretariat.

A message from the Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, ahead of COP29.

This article explains the New Collective Quantified Goal and how the Commonwealth Secretariat is helping developing countries through the climate finance complexities.

Blog by Unnikrishnan Divakaran Nair, Assistant Director Climate Change and Sustainability, Commonwealth Secretariat.

Blog by Chevaughn Brown, Membership Lead at the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network.

The Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH) announced this week that it will be further expanding its network of experts available to member countries. 

A new Commonwealth e-learning course launched today will improve the ability of small and other vulnerable states to access billions of dollars in climate finance.

Blog by Micheala Chan and Angelos Pastras, the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Youth Action Group.

Education is the cornerstone of the energy transition. In an era dominated by social media, young people are uniquely positioned to leverage their influence to build public consciousness around energy challenges, shape public awareness and garner support for climate and energy policies. Movements such as School Strike for Climate provide a prime example, exemplifying the power of young people to effectively advocate for climate action.

The Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda has launched an initiative to support member countries to develop a coordinated national infrastructure for climate data to enable more resilient food systems.

The Commonwealth Secretariat and AGRA today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will leverage digital innovations to help transform smallholder agriculture across Africa. 

The Commonwealth Blue Charter Project Incubator today announced funding for four pioneering government-led projects in Commonwealth countries.

Young people, who are among those most at risk to the impacts of climate change, are not accessing the funds they need to tackle the challenges posed by global warming, according to a report published today.

The Commonwealth, in collaboration with the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) and the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) held a high level panel discussion today to highlight new and emerging finance for sustainable investment in the ocean.