THE global climate circus heads to Baku, Azerbaijan this weekend for the start of the annual COP confab. That’s the Conference of the Parties, meaning signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — or COP29.

Shipping will be there, but don’t expect much in the way of headline conclusions this year. If there is going to be any progress from this meeting, it’s going to focus on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance.

So why are we talking about COP this week?

The reality is that COPs have never really been about shipping, but what happens inside COP has a direct bearing on what happens next in terms of shipping’s long term regulatory future. This year specifically, COP is taking place just six months before the International Maritime Organization sits down to agree the economic and technical measures to hit the industry’s 2050 net zero targets.

What happens in COP has at least some bearing on what happens in the IMO. Yet perhaps more importantly, shipping’s ability to make connections across the energy departments out in Azerbaijan over the next two weeks are going to be crucial to the process that follows whatever comes out of the IMO.

Shipping may not be a huge part of COP, but COP matters hugely to shipping.

Joining Richard on the podcast this week are:

• Dr Tristan Smith, University College London

• Katharine Palmer, Shipping Lead, UNFCCC Climate Champions