COP29 limps towards agreement on climate finance

Abstract

The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP29) adjourned in late November in Baku, Azerbaijan — over a day after it was scheduled to end — with a rushed and, to some, bitterly disappointing outcome. A key aim of the summit was to reach a new climate finance goal for high-income countries to help low- and middle-income nations cope with climate shocks and transition to renewable energy. But as seems to be a theme in international environmental summits of late, negotiations stalled until the final panicked moments of the meeting. Under intense pressure to reach a compromise, including a walkout by the most climate-vulnerable countries like small island states, high-income nations hastily pledged to channel at least US$300 billion per year to low- and middle-income countries by 2035. Although triple the existing climate finance goal, this commitment still falls far short of the annual US$1.3 trillion that low- and middle-income nations had hoped to secure, and the many trillions they will actually need. Negotiations will continue at COP30.