PwC at COP29

Every conversation. Every collaboration. Every commitment. Let’s make climate actions count.

Making climate action count, together at COP29

This year, Azerbaijan has been selected as the Presidency of the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), to be hosted in Baku from 11th - 22nd November. 

PwC will convene with business, policy and NGO leaders, joining discussions to help advance meaningful action to accelerate the climate transition.

PwC’s 2024 Net Zero Economy Index shows the global decarbonisation rate was only 1.02% in 2023 and the world must now decarbonise at a rate twenty times faster if we are to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Even limiting warming to 2°C – the lowest end of the Paris Agreement’s ambition – requires a step change in progress with an annual decarbonisation rate of 6.9%.

We’re committed to playing our part, to delivering sustained, sustainable outcomes and collaborating to create real value. Let's make our climate actions count.

PwC hosted events at COP29

Blue Zone

Please note the Blue Zone is a UNFCCC-managed site open to UN-accredited participants and pass holders. PwC is unable to provide access passes to Blue Zone events.

Implementing NDC 3.0: Actionable collaboration for a sustainable future in competitive economies

Location - Blue Zone, Resilience Hub/ Humanitarian Hub | Area E, Pavilion G5a
When - 14 Nov, 17.00-18.00, followed by a networking reception

Green Zone

Please note The Green Zone is open to the public and visitors can register for tickets  Events at the Extreme Hangout Main Stage also require registration.

Decarbonization strategy and roadmap development for hard-to-abate industries

Location - Green Zone, Conference Room | Universe
When - 13 Nov, 12.00-14.00

The future of green hydrogen

Location - Green Zone, Conference Room | Universe
When - 14 Nov, 16.00-18.00

Bridging the green skills gap: why younger generations are central to the net zero transition

Location - Green Zone, Extreme Hangout
When - 15 Nov, 14.00-15.00

The role of tax policy in just transition

Location - Green Zone, Extreme Hangout
When - 15 Nov, 16.00-17.00

Sustainability through smart city mobility: The view from Central and Eastern Europe

Location - Green Zone, Extreme Hangout
When - 16 Nov, 14.00-15.30

Interested in attending our PwC hosted events?

Or looking to connect and collaborate with us at COP29?

Leaders’ perspectives on COP29

The COP29 presidency’s plan highlights two mutually reinforcing pillars to ‘enhance ambition’ and ‘enable action’ in the climate space. What actions would make the biggest difference?

Accelerated investment

“Solutions to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions exist – the challenge is deploying these solutions on a massive scale, and quickly. A big part of the problem is the lack of "investable projects", with promising climate solutions not receiving the investment needed to reach their full potential. By working with governments on policies and matching investors with opportunities to both generate financial returns and reduce emissions, we can spur climate action at a moment when it’s urgently needed.”

Will Jackson-MooreGlobal Sustainability Leader, PwC UK
Will Jackson-Moore

Bold action, global cooperation

"If we don't take bold action, we risk exceeding 1.5°C of warming and the greater the overshoot, the more severe the impact. Despite these warnings, the gap between goals and actions is growing. Without global cooperation, the possibility of keeping warming within safe limits will disappear. To achieve the necessary changes, we must expand the use of renewable energy, manage energy demand better, and increase financial and technical support for a fair transition."

Emma CoxGlobal Climate Leader, PwC UK
Emma Cox

Stronger public-private partnerships

“Given the need for trillions in climate finance around the globe, COP29 discussions must tackle bringing to life a stronger public-private partnership, to scale up future funding and expand finance flows to climate action. Private sector investments will be key to achieving global decarbonization goals and net zero targets, for which more effective incentivization is needed.”

Albena MarkovaPartner, Sustainability, PwC Bulgaria
Hani Ashkar

Finance and innovation

“The COP29 presidency’s focus on the critical role of finance is timely and relevant. The extent of financing needed will require an unprecedented collaboration across the ecosystem- from governments through international organizations and citizens to industry and financial institutions. Innovation and true partnership will be the answer to enable sustainable economic and social development.”

Agnieszka GajewskaGlobal Government & Public Services Leader, PwC Poland
Dion Shango

Explore our key sustainability insights

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3:08

Emma: So the COP process and being here in Dubai is a really extraordinary event. You've got 70,000 odd people all gathered together with a single mission to pursue action on climate change. 

Bob: It's clear that the COP is talking about a couple of different angles. One is mitigation. Second is the transformation of the energy uses and the carbons associated with it. And third is adaptation. The reality is there's opportunity in all of those, as well as an opportunity to mitigate the downside risk from this transition that we're talking about and doing it in a just way.

Eu Lin: Just transition is not only about technologies, it's not only about getting the emissions down, but also bringing along society so that no one is left behind. It is an extremely complex situation and I think something that PwC, with the might of our knowledge and also our people and talent, can really help with.

Lit Ping: I've just come from an event around women and sustainability, and I think that is incredibly important, that we recognize the need to bring a diverse voice to the table so that every decision that we're making around climate action is an inclusive one. 

Will: We need to move quickly to reduce carbon in our energy system. And the quickest way to do that is just not using the energy in the first place. Energy efficiency is fundamentally important. We believe that we could reduce energy demand by 30% with existing technologies and if they were fully deployed.

Andrew: It's clear in order to reach the net zero target that's required to limit the rise in temperatures to at most 1.5 degrees more than $4 trillion annually of new investments are going to be required in areas like clean energy, in areas like energy efficiency and new forms of transportation. And of course, there's going to be no investment without financing.

Emma: We're living the experience of climate change now. It makes business common sense and just common sense for the security of people to think, how do we adapt to how the climate is changing?  The reality is that adaptation has not had enough focus. It has not got enough finance, and there's a long way to go to get it firmly on the business agenda. 

Dion: So when one compares businesses with government, businesses are generally seen to be much more focused and much more skillful at execution. So whilst on the one hand it is the role of government to set the policy, to set the agenda, it is really business that actually make things happen. 

Bob: And so coming out of COP, what's gotta to happen is a continuation of refining what's being discussed here today and then a periodic check to make sure that we have accountability, accountability by governments, by corporate entities, for that matter, citizens to say, have we changed and are we changing fast enough? And what we need to make sure we do is set the stage for the next intervention be it a G20 or G7 meeting or the next COP to make sure that we're demonstrating to the world that we're actually making progress. So coming out of here, it's actions and impact, not the words.

Our reflections on COP28

Last year, our PwC delegation attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, UAE, from 30 November to 12 December 2024.

This video captures some of the key themes, highlights and takeaways from COP28.

PwC’s sustainability commitments 

net zero

Net zero

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, business, government and society need to work together to transition to a net zero economy. At PwC, we believe the business community has a role to make that happen. We're committed to leading by example and reaching net zero in line with 2030 targets.

Find out more

 

nature image

Creating a nature positive future

As well as addressing our own nature footprint, we at PwC are helping to build the systems and frameworks that will deliver the trusted information needed to underpin a nature positive transition. We are committed to playing our part in delivering a nature positive world.

Find out more

 

The Energy Transition

Visit our content hub to discover more about fuelling a resilient future through powerful alliances, greener investment and greater use of renewables.

Sustainability

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Contact us

Emma Cox

Emma Cox

Global Climate Leader, Partner, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)7973 317011

Will  Jackson-Moore

Will Jackson-Moore

Partner, Global Sustainability Leader, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)7710 157908

Albena Markova

Albena Markova

Partner, Sustainability, PwC Bulgaria

Tel: +35 92 935 5200

Agnieszka Gajewska

Agnieszka Gajewska

Global Government & Public Sector Leader, PwC Poland

Tel: +48 227 466 131

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