COP29 opened Monday in Azerbaijan, Talks May Centre on Climate Funding
In his opening speech, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said that world leaders must show that global cooperation “is not down for the count”.
Adressing delegates from 200 countries he said “here in Baku, we must agree a new global climate finance goal. If at least two thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price,” he warned.
Stiell also appealed for an “ambitious” new goal on providing climate funding to the world’s poorer nations, saying: “Let’s dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity.”
In welcoming delegates, Azerbaijan’s Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev, who also serves as COP29 president, declared that “climate change is already here. COP29 is the unmissable moment to chart a new path forward for everyone.”
The COP29 talks open amid new warnings that 2024 is on track to break temperature records, adding urgency to a fractious debate over climate funding as poorer countries seek an increase in the $100bn-a-year target at the forum.
Damilola Ogunbiyi, UN Special Representative on Sustainable Energy, said that one of her “key expectations is on the role of climate finance”.
“We have a record-breaking year of investments in clean renewable energy. However, only 15 percent of that goes to the global south,” she said.
Trump’s return also looms over the discussions, with fears that an imminent US departure from the landmark Paris Agreement to limit global warming could mean less ambition around the negotiating table.
Diplomats have however insisted that the absences, and Trump’s win, will not detract from the serious work at hand, particularly agreeing on a new figure for climate funding to developing countries.
Host Azerbaijan will be tasked with keeping countries focused on agreeing to a new global finance target deal to replace the current $100bn pledge expiring this year. How much will be on offer, who will pay, and who can access the funds are some of the major points of contention.
Earlier this year, the UN warned the world is on track for a catastrophic 3.1C (5.58F) of warming this century based on current actions.