13 September 2024 – The Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) in collaboration with the Climate, Coastal Marine and Biodiversity (CCMB) project, GIZ Thailand, successfully hosted a Pre-Cop 29 capacity building workshop to equip Thailand’s delegation with the necessary tools for effective participation in the 29th session Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 29), which will be conducted in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024. Nareerat Panmanee, Director, Strategy and International Cooperation Division, Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) delivered the opening remarks.

The Conference of the Parties (COP), an international climate summit under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has been held annually since 1995 to address climate change through international cooperation. COP 29, the upcoming summit, aims to provide a platform for formal negotiations between relevant parties to achieve practical and positive solutions that mitigate climate change impact while promoting economic growth.

Funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) under the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the Climate, Coastal Marine and Biodiversity (CCMB) project, GIZ Thailand, is working closely with the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE), to develop climate and biodiversity policies and instruments. As Thailand’s UNFCCC focal point, the DCCE is responsible for preparing the country for climate negotiations under the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement.

In preparing for the upcoming summit, the CCMB project held a Pre-COP 29 workshop to support the DCCE and the inter-ministerial working group with technical inputs and capacity building to prepare for Thailand’s engagement at the UNFCCC COP 29. The workshop is designed to gather information for negotiations as well as technical information for negotiators. The Pre-COP 29 workshop was held from11 – 13 September 2024 at Bay Beach Resort Jomtien Pattaya, Chonburi province. The special guest speaker, Wanna Tanunchaiwatana, former specialist at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) shared her experience of working at the UNFCCC and from participating in previous COP conferences, along with insights and strategies for enhancing a country’s influence and preparation needed for participating in the COP. Walters Tubua, Regional Lead UNFCCC for RCC Western Africa and Central Asia, Vintura Silva, UNFCCC representative and Bernd Hackmann, UNFCCC representative provided highlights of the COP 29 agenda and technical information about just transition and mitigation issues that are going to be presented and discussed at COP 2, while experts from consultancies provided technical information about adaptation, climate finance and relevant information.

The workshop comprised 2 main sessions. The first session called ‘About COP’ provided a comprehensive overview of the UNFCCC process, including the history, structure, negotiating groups and coalitions as well as key outcomes of previous COPs. The second session, ‘Technical, Negotiation Text, and Negotiation Simulation’, focused on reinforcing the participants’ capacity for key technical information and its implications that determine the actions and decisions in the Thailand context. The participants were immersed in technical discussions on climate change in conjunction with drafting negotiation texts and took part in a mock negotiation simulation.

The workshop brought together 59 representatives from the DCCE and inter-ministerial working groups including representatives from the energy, industrial, and forestry sectors. Participants gained valuable insights into climate-related policy topics and developed effective negotiation strategies, ready for global climate negotiations and to advocate for Thailand’s interests.

More information about COP 29: COP29 Azerbaijan – United Nations Climate Change Conference
More information about CCMB: Climate, Coastal, and Marine Biodiversity (CCMB) – Thai-German Cooperation (thai-german-cooperation.info)