Azerbaijan unveils COP29 agenda amid financial deadlock

COP29 host Azerbaijan unveiled a slew of initiatives for the November summit on Tuesday in an attempt to overcome stalled funding negotiations.

The primary challenge of COP29 is to agree on a new funding goal to help developing countries deal with climate change. However, discussions remain deadlocked.

In response, the COP29 presidency has proposed more than a dozen side initiatives that don’t require party negotiations.

Azerbaijan’s Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev, who holds the rotating COP presidency, said that side agendas use "the convening power of COP and the hosts’ respective national capabilities to form coalitions and drive progress."

These voluntary, parallel initiatives are common at COP summits, but they are separate from the lengthy negotiations that lead to binding agreements.

The agenda will "help to enhance ambition by bringing stakeholders together around common principles and goals," Babayev said.

What initiatives have been proposed?

Among the key initiatives introduced by Azerbaijan is the creation of a climate action fund with voluntary contributions from fossil fuel-producing countries and companies.

The fund aims to raise $1 billion (€900 million) to finance projects in developing countries.

Azerbaijan, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, is expected to make the first contribution to this fund.

Other proposals include reducing emissions from the tourism sector, increasing energy storage capacity, and creating a global market for clean hydrogen.

The host nation has also suggested a "COP Truce" to halt conflicts during the summit.

Developing countries call for more financial support

This year’s summit in Baku aims to determine how much funding developing countries need to address global warming and where the funds will come from.

This new agreement is set to replace the $100 billion per year commitment made by rich nations in 2020. That goal was only met for the first time in 2022 and has long been criticized as insufficient.

In August, the UN presented a draft document outlining seven possible options for the financial agreement.

With two months left before the summit, no consensus has been reached.

COP29 held amid rising temperatures

Despite many nations’ climate commitments, the Earth continues to warm.

Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels reached a record high last year.

Additionally, summer 2024 has been Northern Hemisphere's hottest on record, as temperatures continue to rise.

fmf/zc (Reuters, AFP)