Climate Gathering Agrees On 1 Trillion Dollar Deal After Tensions (Worthy News Radio)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BAKU/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Delegates of rich and poor countries concluded a trillion-dollar deal on what they view as “a climate crisis” on Sunday after marathon talks at a climate gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan. The negotiations were overshadowed by mounting tensions, with India among those opposing the accord.
After some 11 long days of often tense negotiations, the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP29, concluded with a deal that campaigners said was a “betrayal” of the developing world.
Under the accord, the developing world should receive at least $1.3 trillion a year in funds to help it shift to a low-carbon economy. The money will also help it set up infrastructure to cope with the impacts of extreme weather by 2035.
COP 29 President Mukhtar Babayev seemed pleased with the outcome. “When the world came to Baku, people doubted Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree. They were wrong on both counts,” he said.
“With this breakthrough, the Baku Finance Goal will turn billions into trillions over the next decade. We have secured a trebling of the core climate finance target for developing countries each year,” Babayev added.
However, not everyone shares his enthusiasm. Critics noted that only $300 billion of the promised 1.3 billion dollars annually will come primarily from grants and low-interest loans from the developed world.
The rest must come from private investors and a range of potential new sources of money, such as possible taxes on fossil fuels and frequent flyers, which have yet to be agreed upon.
INDIA ANGRY
That angered India, explained the Indian delegation representative Chandni Raina. “We are disappointed in the outcome, which clearly brings out the unwillingness of the developed country parties to fulfill their responsibilities,” she said.
“I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document,” Raina stressed.
Some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries fought hard during nearly two weeks of tense negotiations at the COP29 U.N. summit in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, for a bigger share of the money to come directly from wealthier nations.
They also wanted more available finance to go to the most needy countries instead of being shared with more significant emerging economies, such as India.
At one point, several delegates from developed nations walked away from the talks in protest amid shouts of “No press! No press!”
The talks were high-stakes from the start, opening just days after Donald J. Trump won re-election as president of the United States.
When he takes office in January, Trump intends to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Under the 2015 Parisaccord global warming should remain within 1.5 Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) beyond preindustrial temperatures, although a growing number of critical experts doubt humanity’s influence over these changes.
TRUMP HOSTILE
His critics say he will likely oppose providing climate finance to the developing world.
Questions remain also over the deal’s practicalities. During last year’s COP28 summit in Dubai, there was a call to “transition away” from coal, oil, and natural gas.
That was seen as groundbreaking because, for the first time, 200 countries, including top oil and natural gas producers like Saudi Arabia and the United States, seemed to agree to phase down fossil fuels.
However, the latest talks only mentioned the Dubai deal without explicitly repeating the call for a transition away from these energy sources.
That was perhaps no surprise, given that Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev referred to fossil fuels as a “gift from God” during his keynote opening speech.
Yet Azerbaijan, a significant crude oil and natural gas producer nation, managed to attract delegates flying from around the world to the climate change gathering in Baku.
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