The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) kicked off in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on November 11 with hopes of making headway in the global battle to combat climate change. But it didn't take long for the proceedings to grind to a halt as bickering erupted over the meeting's agenda.
The talks hit a snag, according to several media outlets, when some countries wanted more focus on moving forward in the transition away from fossil fuels, while others, mainly oil and gas producing nations, wanted to limit talk on the COP28 agreement reached last year to mainly look at finance.
"Let's dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity," U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said in a speech.
"An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every nation, including the largest and wealthiest."
SEE ALSO: Azerbaijan Eyes Prestige Boost From Hosting COP29, Despite The CriticsWith the UN's World Meteorological Organization forecasting that 2015-2024 will be the hottest decade ever recorded, and extreme climate events popping up across the globe, the talks in Baku, which run until November 22, are seen as crucial for making progress before it's too late.
Clouding the talks further is last week's election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
Trump campaigned on raising fossil fuel output in the United States, which is already at a record high.
Even the U.S. climate envoy John Podesta couldn't hide his concerns over how the incoming administration will address climate change given Trump's often-stated goal of removing the country from international climate cooperation agreements.
"For those of us dedicated to climate action, last week's outcome in the United States is obviously bitterly disappointing," Podesta said at the summit.
"But what I want to tell you today is that while the United States federal government, under Donald Trump, may put climate action on the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States."
Even before the start of COP29, questions around the commitment to real progress were being asked given the choice of oil-rich Azerbaijan as host of the event.
Authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev has been chided for failing to devise and implement sufficient climate change plans at home, where he is also accused of human rights violations, including the detention of independent media figures, such as journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada, who is affiliated with RFE/RL and recently marked his fifth month in custody on charges that he and his supporters say are fabricated.
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Greta Thunberg Slams Climate Summit Hosted By Azerbaijan
"Azerbaijan, using COP29 as a facade, is ramping up control under a false 'green' agenda, tightening its grip on power, and escalating regional tensions," Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg said in a post on X.
Thunberg led a protest in neighboring Georgia on November 11 after saying she wouldn't be attending COP29 over Azerbaijan’s climate and human rights record.
Azerbaijan has long regarded holding large-scale events as a path toward international prestige.
It hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. It has bid repeatedly, albeit unsuccessfully, to host the Summer Olympic Games and has hosted two Olympics-like events, the European Games in 2015 and the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017. Since 2017, it has hosted the Formula One circuit’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix through downtown Baku.
But. on the streets of Baku, residents seemed unimpressed by their government's efforts to host another high-profile international event.
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Voices From Baku: Residents Weigh In On Hosting COP29
"COP 29 is being held because [the authorities] want to promote Azerbaijan, that is one thing. Secondly people will come and gather here and Azerbaijan's money will go [toward feeding them]," one female resident of the capital complained.
"The poor, the poor families, the families of veterans, the disabled will be left aside, they will not be supported, but COP 29 will be held here. They will spend millions [on the organization of COP 29]. Why do we need this?"