“O Triune God, please immerse COP29 in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”  

1. Pray for the COP Troika

Even though Azerbaijan holds the Presidency, the outcomes of COP29 are considered a joint effort with the preceding and subsequent COPs (COP28’s UAE and COP30’s Brazil). The COP Troika, as it is being called, is working closely together by jointly planning for the complicated negotiations in each of the three COPs.

1. Pray for the actual President, Mukthar Babayev, and also for COP28 President Al Jaber and COP30 host Luiz de Silva, that they will act with wisdom and in good faith. Pray that Azerbaijan’s inexperience in international diplomacy will not be a hindrance.
2. Pray that fossil fuel interests will be prevented from exercising undue influence. Babayev (like Al Jaber) has been an oil executive, and over half of Azerbaijan’s GDP is from fossil fuels, with over 90% of their exports.
3. Pray for other key leaders at COP29: Simon Stiell (UNFCCC head), Alok Sharma (still active COP26 president), Jim Skea (IPCC chair taking more of a diplomatic role), Mia Motley (Barbados PM and creative advocate for Finance).

 

2. Pray for three key efforts at COP29

Thank you to Brian Webb of the Christian Climate Observers Program for this research. You can watch his video What to Expect at COP29 (PW: ASH22=c@). You can subscribe to the CCOP2024 newsletter from COP29 for daily prayer requests.

1. Climate Finance: Pray for the “New Collective Quantified Goal” (NCQG) for 2025 and onward. Pray about “sums and sources”: for sums closer to US$1 trillion than to $100 billion; for a creative mix of sources (public, private, multilateral development banks, international taxes) that priortize giving grants, not loans.
2. “Phasing Out” Fossil Fuels: The UAE Consensus was a start, but only called for “transition away from fossil fuels” and only in “energy systems” and not in other polluting sectors (e.g. transportation). Pray for greater progress in this effort, and also for a timeline for this phase out.
3. Updated NDC’s: a new set of more ambitious emissions reduction targets are due in early 2025. Only 69 nations have submitted NDC updates so far, and remarkably only five of those show increased ambition! (climateactiontracker.org)

 

PW: ASH22=c@

3. Pray for the Rio Trio

The 1992 Rio Earth Summit produced three Conventions–on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification. They were dubbed “The Rio Trio” and each will conduct a “Conference of the Parties” (COP) at the end of 2024.

1. COP16 Biodiversity, 21 Oct-1 Nov, Cali, Colombia
2. COP29 Climate, 11-22 Nov, Baku, Azerbaijan
3. COP16 Combat Desertification, 2-13 Dec, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia

Please pray: “By enhancing collaboration across the three Rio Conventions, we aim to unlock synergies, enhance efficiency, and drive concrete outcomes that benefit people and the planet. This is about recognising that the goals of the respective conventions are intrinsically linked and that progress in one area can catalyse advances in others.” (Babayev, 27 Sept)   These prayer points were compiled by Climate Intercessors, a global network of people whose prayers are as real and urgent as the climate crisis.