COP29 opens in Baku with urgent climate warnings

The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) opened in Baku, Azerbaijan, amid concerns over absent world leaders and the potential impact of Donald Trump's return to the White House. COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev warned that current global policies are leading to catastrophic 3 degrees Celsius warming, emphasizing the urgent need for action.

A key focus of the summit is negotiating a significant increase in climate finance, with proposals to raise annual funding for developing countries from $100 billion to $1 trillion. UN climate chief Simon Stiell stressed that climate finance isn't charity but a necessity for global climate action.

The summit faces several challenges, including competing attention with economic concerns and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Notable absences include US President Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and European Commission President von der Leyen. Additionally, the agenda was modified to accommodate China's last-minute trade restriction proposal on behalf of the BASIC group (Brazil, South Africa, and India).

Trump's potential return to the presidency has raised concerns about US climate commitments, as he previously called climate change a hoax and has promised to withdraw from the Paris Agreement again. However, the outgoing Biden administration has recently partnered with Japan in a sovereign deal supporting the Asian Development Bank's climate-related projects.

Babayev highlighted recent climate disasters, including deadly floods in Spain and Australian wildfires, calling COP29 a "moment of truth" for the Paris Agreement. He emphasized that no single country can solve the crisis alone and called for enhanced ambition and solidarity for a green world.

The conference, bringing together 198 parties, aims to assess progress and forge responses to the climate crisis, with a renewed focus on actionable commitments and innovative funding mechanisms.