About 3 o’clock early Sunday morning, in a powerless meeting, the group struck to end COP29. At the end of a chaotic final day in Baku, Azerbaijan, the end of the Party Congress was greeted with applause. At the same time, dissatisfaction.
The meeting, whose main purpose was agree on a new economic agreement to help developing countries with climate action, was due to end on Friday. But the disagreement between about 200 countries on the money that has been changed to be given has delayed the completion by 33 hours. The hope was that developed countries would commit to give more than $1 trillion a year. However, as of Friday, the negotiations did not come close to that number.
The final day was characterized by arguments, arguments, and heated arguments behind closed doors, negotiators split from the main hall into smaller rooms after failing to reach an agreement. At 4 o’clock on Saturday, the door of room number 3 was unexpectedly opened. Many delegates from countries at risk of climate change arrived in front of photographers and journalists, leaving the talks largely unheard of.
Some discussion followed. After several adjournments, the president of the COP of Azerbaijan, led by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Mukhtar Babayev, convened the meeting twice in the evening. Eventually, an agreement on climate finance was approved—but only at a fraction of what was hoped for.
What the Agreement Says
The document calls for developed countries to invest $300 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2035. The first, ambitious goal brought to the conference—$1.3 trillion every 12 months by 2035—is still in writing, but n’ less. than calling.
Crux, which the document does not resolve, is where the money will come from. Governments? Personal income? The ambiguity is intentional. The explanation will come from the road map (called “Baku to Belém Road Map to 1.3T”) that is being developed ahead of next year’s COP30, which will be held in Brazil. There is a commitment, in short, to clarify everything in the coming months.
Most importantly, China, which was still considered a developing country under the 1992 climate change agreement, has not been amended, meaning it is not under any economic obligation. It has been invited to contribute through the COP process, on the basis that it leads the world in emissions and is the second largest economy in the world. Now, for the first time, China will voluntarily contribute through the COP system, but this will not bring an obligation to do so.
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