Discussions over a new trillion-dollar global deal to tackle the climate crisis dragged on late into Saturday night, as rich and poor countries fought over how much cash was needed, and who should pay.
Rich countries have said that they want to offer only about $300bn out of the $1.3tn a year needed from their own coffers, with the rest to come from other sources including potential new taxes and private investors.
Poor countries said that this was too little, and relying on loans or the private sector would push them further into debt. Ali Mohamed, who is Kenya’s climate change envoy, representing the African group of negotiators, said grants and loans at very low interest rates from developed countries should make up $600bn of the money needed. “Anything lower than that will not help the world tackle climate change,” he said.
There was drama throughout an intense Saturday of talks in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, where the two-week Cop29 UN conference was supposed to finish on Friday night. Early in the morning, developed countries including the UK, the US and EU members were pushed into raising their offer from an original $250bn a year tabled on Friday, to $300bn. Poor countries argued for more, and in the early evening two groups representing some of the world’s poorest countries walked out of one key meeting, threatening to collapse the negotiations.
Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa thinktank, said: “The moral compass of the world – the most vulnerable countries – have walked out after [the rich] failed to honour the promises they have made on climate finance.”
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Ed Miliband, the UK energy secretary, cancelled his flight home and vowed to stay as long as it took to get a deal. “I’ve always said there is a will to get a deal but we need to find a way,” he told the Observer. “It is in our national self interest to work with others and tackle the climate crisis and I will stay as long as there is a chance to get an agreement.”
Saudi Arabia was widely accused of disrupting the talks throughout, and in an extraordinary development attempted to alter one key text without full consultation.
Eamon Ryan, Ireland’s environment minister, told the Observer: “It has been the fossil fuel interests that want to maintain the status quo. But the vast majority of the world recognise the status quo endangers us all.”
The host country, Azerbaijan, also came in for fierce criticism. Much of the practical responsibility for running the negotiations falls to the host presidency, such as ensuring that drafts of a possible deal are properly consulted on, and helping countries quickly identify their areas of common ground and disagreement, to craft a coherent package of measures.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
