The deal, reached in overtime at the two-week meeting in Azerbaijan’s capital, was intended to boost momentum for worldwide efforts to combat global warming in a year that is expected to be the hottest on record. Some delegates gave the agreement a standing ovation in the COP29 plenary hall. Others chastised affluent nations for not contributing more and the Azerbaijani host for rushing through the difficult scheme. “I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion,” Indian delegation representative Chandni Raina said in the summit’s closing session, minutes after the pact was announced. “This, we believe, will not address the magnitude of the crisis we all confront. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document.

Developing nations criticize COP29’s $300 billion climate pact as insufficient. 24 November 2024, 06:22 By Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici, and Karin Strohecker. Subscribe for only R20 for the first month. Subscriptions to our digital news bundle help to support independent journalism. Subscribe now. Executive Secretary Simon Stiell (left), COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev (seated), and Yalchin Rafiyev (5th from left), lead negotiator for the COP29 Azerbaijan presidency, celebrate CMA 11a in the early hours of the second part of the closing plenary on day twelve of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference on November 24, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Executive Secretary Simon Stiell (L), COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev (sitting), and Yalchin Rafiyev (5th from L), senior negotiator for the COP29 Azerbaijan president, celebrated CMA 11a in the early hours. UN climate chief Simon Stiell acknowledged the difficult discussions that led to the deal, but praised the conclusion as humanity’s insurance policy against global warming. “It has been a difficult journey, but we’ve delivered a deal,” said Stiell. “This agreement will keep the renewable energy boom going and save billions of lives. “But like any insurance policy, it only works if the premiums are paid in full, and on time.” The accord will give $300 billion yearly by 2035, exceeding rich countries’ prior commitment to provide $100 billion per year in climate funding by 2020. That previous objective was accomplished two years late, in 2022, and will expire in 2025.

The agreement also provides the basis for next year’s climate summit, which will be hosted in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest and will allow countries to plan the following decade of climate action. The conference got to the heart of the issue over industrialized countries’ financial responsibilities to compensate others for rising climate change damage, which has historically been driven by their use of fossil fuels. It also exposed gaps between wealthier governments with restricted domestic budgets and developing countries dealing with the consequences of storms, floods, and droughts. Negotiations were supposed to end on Friday, but they were extended because delegates from over 200 countries were unable to reach an agreement. Talks were interrupted on Saturday due to some growing

“We are departing with a small portion of the funds that climate-vulnerable countries desperately require. It’s not nearly enough, but it’s a start,” said Tina Stege, the Marshall Islands’ climate ambassador. Nations have been seeking funding to meet the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) over pre-industrial levels, beyond which catastrophic climate impacts could occur. According to the 2024 UN Emissions Gap study, the world is now on track for up to 3.1 degrees Celsius (5.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming by the end of the century, with global greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use rising.

Developing nations criticize COP29’s $300 billion climate pact as insufficient. 24 November 2024, 06:22 By Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici, and Karin Strohecker. Subscribe for only R20 for the first month. Subscriptions to our digital news bundle help to support independent journalism. Subscribe now. Executive Secretary Simon Stiell (left), COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev (seated), and Yalchin Rafiyev (5th from left), lead negotiator for the COP29 Azerbaijan presidency, celebrate CMA 11a in the early hours of the second part of the closing plenary on day twelve of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference on November 24, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Executive Secretary Simon Stiell (L), COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev (sitting), and Yalchin Rafiyev (5th from L), senior negotiator for the COP29 Azerbaijan president, celebrated CMA 11a in the early hours. According to the 2024 UN Emissions Gap study, the world is now on track for up to 3.1 degrees Celsius (5.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming by the end of the century, with global greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use rising. The agreement reached on Sunday did not specify how countries will carry out the UN climate summit’s 2023 goal to phase out fossil fuels and triple renewable energy capacity this decade. Some negotiators claimed Saudi Arabia attempted to stymie such a strategy throughout the negotiations. “There’s definitely a challenge in getting greater ambition when you’re negotiating with the Saudis,” said US climate adviser John Podesta. A Saudi official did not immediately respond.

WHAT COUNTS AS A DEVELOPED NATION? The roster of countries needed to contribute, which includes the United States, European nations, and Canada, dates back to a list agreed upon during UN climate discussions in 1992. European countries have requested that others pay in, notably China, the world’s second-largest economy, and the oil-rich Gulf states. The agreement encourages developing countries to make contributions, but it does not force them. The deal contains a broader aim of raising $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035, which would cover investment from all public and private sources and, according to experts, is sufficient to mitigate global warming.