In the bustling city of Baku, Azerbaijan, COP29, a crucial international summit on climate change, was held. The opening ceremony of the United Nations event was marked by an over-the-top celebration of fossil fuels, hailed by the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, as a “gift from God.” However, this outpouring of praise quickly gave way to collective disappointment over a climate finance deal that was deemed insulting, mocked and seen as a betrayal by developing countries.
At the heart of the COP29 debates was the crucial question of the debt owed by rich countries, the main culprits of the climate crisis, to poor countries facing the worst impacts. A figure of $300 billion per year by 2035 was put forward, but considered largely insufficient by less affluent countries, who estimate that $1.3 trillion per year would be needed to address a crisis they did not cause.
As the summit concluded in cacophony and the final agreement was roundly criticized, some experts questioned the legitimacy of the COP process itself, calling it unambitious and almost useless.
Amid geopolitical upheaval, including the election of a climate skeptic in the United States, Baku may well be seen as the beginning of the end of multilateral climate action.
Fossil fuel interests appear to have been unleashed at COP29. More than 1,700 representatives of the fossil fuel industry were present, far outnumbering delegates from many countries. Saudi Arabia, known for holding back ambitious climate action, explicitly rejected any mention of fossil fuels in the final agreement. Climate groups called the final deal a “band-aid on a gaping wound,” angering developing countries.
Despite its shortcomings, many climate advocates and scientists acknowledge that the UN climate process remains the best current mechanism for global climate action. The critical question now is whether momentum can be regained and the integrity of the process restored.
The focus now turns to COP30 in Brazil next year, billed as the most important climate summit since Paris, where countries will set out their climate plans for the next decade. To succeed, the entire system must be reoriented to serve the interests of the most vulnerable rather than those of fossil fuel lobbyists and polluters.
Despite the challenges of geopolitical change and the rise of right-wing, pro-fossil fuel politicians, there is still hope for changeThe road to a sustainable and balanced future remains strewn with pitfalls, but it is by joining forces and implementing concrete actions that we can hope for a better world for future generations.