(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) have come together for the first time at the dedicated Standards Pavilion at COP29 to ensure greater recognition of standards in the global climate action agenda.

The Standards Pavilion features a range of collaborative workshops and panel discussions from Nov. 11–22. As COP29 got underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, leading organizations IEC, ISO and ULSE, along with eight other standards organizations, opened the event by highlighting a shared commitment to position standards at the heart of COP outcomes and successful climate action.

The 11 organizations, recognizing the world is at a serious turning point for climate action, are aligned in this effort to help climate decision makers gain a better understanding of the value of standards in delivering sustainable solutions. The unique convention aims to use the global gathering to amplify efforts, accelerate progress, and ensure greater recognition of standards in the global climate agenda.

By joining forces through these sessions, the organizations aim to promote the integration of standards into national and international climate policies for informed, effective, and accountable decision-making by policymakers and business leaders.

“We want to see standards being embedded in the negotiated outcomes of COP,” says Philippe Metzger, IEC Secretary-General & CEO. “The very raison d’être of international standards is that they can be adopted across borders. In fact, a large number of countries are already realizing their plans of scaling renewable energy, reducing industry carbon emissions, and supporting a circular economy with the help of international standards and conformity assessment.”

ISO president Dr. Sung Hwan Cho says that as the world comes together for COP29, the urgency of the climate agenda has never been greater. “Through the Standards Pavilion, we are sending a strong message to the world that international standards have a crucial role to play in accelerating climate action.”

“International Standards are essential to providing recognition, credibility and accountability, and supporting global climate policy implementation,” Cho says. “Trusted, globally agreed standards help turn climate commitments and plans into effective, measurable action—they provide a consistent and harmonized approach to climate action that can be adopted across borders. We are proud to bring the Standards Pavilion to COP29 and to be collaborating with all Pavilion Partners to accelerate effective climate action.”

“International standards are an opportunity to bring consistency, clarity, and consensus to our global climate challenges, and we see them as part of the solution to the critical issues COP exists to solve,” says Dr. George Borlase, interim executive director and vice president, standards development at UL Standards & Engagement. “The application of international standards instills unity to address these issues because they are developed through collaboration, transparency, and knowledge sharing, and deliver impact in both developed and developing nations.”

COP represents a unique opportunity for the standards community to enhance the profile of international standards in the climate space. By strengthening and expanding the collaboration with other organizations, multistakeholder alliances, coalitions, and leading private sector actors active in this field, the organizations hope to leverage the power of harmonized international standards for a safer and more sustainable world.

The key theme for this year’s COP revolves around two mutually reinforcing parallel pillars: “enhance ambition” of countries for their national plans and “enable action” to turn ambition into action.

Trusted, globally agreed standards are crucial for turning these climate commitments into measurable actions.

The 11 standards organizations represented at the Standards Pavilion at COP29 include:

• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE)
• Azerbaijan Standardization Institute (AZSTAND)
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
• Better Cotton
• Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI)
• International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC International)
• Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC)

More information about the Standards Pavilion, including the Pavilion Program for COP29, is available at www.standardspavilion.org.