Environmental (Commonwealth Union)_ After 24 hours of extended negotiations, COP29 concluded in Azerbaijan with a landmark deal to triple climate finance for developing nations. This pivotal agreement seeks to mobilize at least $300 billion annually by 2035, alongside a longer-term goal of unlocking $1.3 trillion per year, primarily through private funding. However, the commitment falls short of the trillions developing nations say they need to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts, especially in the face of mounting debt concerns from market-based loans.
Carbon credit trading also saw a breakthrough, with negotiators finalizing long-debated rules under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The newly established global mechanism allows countries and companies to trade credits, backed by systems ensuring accountability to prevent double counting. However, critics warn the framework may enable trading of low-impact credits, undermining its environmental efficacy.
Key players like Saudi Arabia and China exerted their influence throughout the summit. Saudi Arabia resisted efforts to explicitly link fossil fuels to global warming, weakening emission-reduction pledges. Meanwhile, China declined to formally join the donor pool for climate finance, maintaining its classification as a developing nation despite its wealth and emissions record. While China has voluntarily contributed $24 billion since 2016 to help other nations, this stance highlights the complexities of broadening the climate finance base.
The summit also spotlighted the challenges of petrostate leadership, with Azerbaijan drawing criticism for its oil-dependent economy. However, a BloombergNEF report urged against overgeneralizing, noting Azerbaijan’s fossil fuel production is less significant than that of recent hosts.
Looking ahead, COP30 in Brazil will push nations to set robust emission-reduction targets for 2035 and finalize discussions on transitioning away from fossil fuels. Yet, the modest finance commitments from Baku could hinder ambitions for clean energy transitions in developing nations.
With global emissions needing to fall by 42% by 2030 to avert catastrophic warming, the urgency for transformative action remains high. COP29 showcased the complexities of multilateral climate diplomacy, leaving much work for Brazil to tackle in 2025. As Laurence Tubiana remarked, “Multilateralism is alive and more necessary than ever,” but whether it will deliver remains an open question.
