PLANNING for this year’s global climate conference, COP29, has begun in earnest – and organisers expect it to be fossil fuel giant Azerbaijan’s largest-ever event in terms of attendance and scale.

However, huge reforms are also needed if the summit is to deliver an effective global climate deal.

One thing that COP29 president-designate Mukhtar Babayev and the new organising committee should consider is the summit’s ballooning attendance.