By CHR Team| Baku
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) has reached its halfway mark in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a blend of breakthroughs, stalled negotiations, and urgent calls for action dominating the week. The summit opened with a landmark agreement on a new centralized carbon market under UN oversight—a decision that caps a decade of painstaking negotiations. Yet, as global temperatures climb, the mood in Baku remains one of urgency and, at times, frustration.
“The sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening address at the World Leaders Climate Action Summit. “Time is not on our side.”
His words echoed throughout the halls of the summit as he laid out a three-pronged agenda: immediate emissions cuts, enhanced adaptation efforts, and securing a robust climate finance mechanism. Guterres singled out the inadequacy of funding for loss and damage—a long-awaited initiative aimed at aiding vulnerable nations reeling from climate disasters. While the programme’s initial $700 million capitalization is a start, Guterres starkly compared it to the annual earnings of the world’s top-paid footballers, calling it “woefully insufficient.”
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), underscored the critical need for financial commitments. “Let’s dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and wealthiest,” he stated, reminding delegates that no country is immune to the cascading impacts of a warming planet.
Stiell also took aim at the G20, urging its leaders to leverage their influence during next week’s summit in Brazil. He called for clear signals on multilateral development bank reform and increased concessional funding to bridge the finance gap.
Adding to the urgency, the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) *An Eye on Methane 2024* report revealed that human-driven methane emissions contribute roughly a third of global warming. UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson minced no words: “Governments and oil and gas companies must stop paying lip-service to this challenge when answers are staring them in the face.”
Methane mitigation has been a focal point for activists and negotiators alike, with proposals ranging from stricter industry regulations to incentives for cleaner technologies.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the week came from young climate advocates, who brought raw emotion and bold ideas to the table during a dialogue with Guterres. Sidestepping traditional speeches, they shared personal stories and laid bare their frustrations with slow progress. Guterres, visibly moved, later wrote: “You have every right to be angry. I am angry too. We are on the verge of the climate abyss, and I don’t see enough urgency or political will to address the emergency.”
The youth advocates’ passion resonated with delegates, reigniting discussions about accountability and intergenerational justice.
As negotiations continue, delegates from developing nations are pushing for quicker commitments to loss and damage funding and accelerated clean energy goals. However, talks remain bogged down by disagreements over financial contributions and implementation timelines.
With five days remaining, the stakes couldn’t be higher. From the halls of Baku to the upcoming G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the message is clear: climate action requires both speed and solidarity.
Stay tuned to Climate Health Review for in-depth coverage, interviews, and updates as COP29 unfolds.
