Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 37
COP29 host Azerbaijan said Tuesday that voluntary pledges on everything from tourism to world peace would be sought at the UN climate summit as disagreements over money stymie the main agenda.
Nations are supposed to agree at the November conference how much should be raised for developing countries to cope with climate change but the formal negotiations so far have been mired in disagreement.
These include asking nations to observe a ceasefire during the marathon summit, to commit to reducing methane from organic waste and emissions from the tourism industry, and pledging to boost global energy storage, among others.
“Successive COP Presidencies have supplemented their mandated programmes with non-negotiated action agendas… to achieve ambitious outcomes,” COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev wrote to the nearly 200 nations participating in the summit.
Key among these is a fund, proposed by Azerbaijan, that intends to raise money for developing countries through donations from fossil fuel producing countries and companies.
Azerbaijan — wedged between Iran and Russia and heavily dependent on fossil fuels — is expected to make the first contribution to this so-called “climate finance action fund”.
Voluntary initiatives at the COPs, such as non-binding pledges and commitments, are features of these summits but are distinct from the long and protracted negotiations that produce binding agreements, by consensus, with UN backing.
This year’s summit in Baku is supposed to agree on how much developing countries need to adapt to a warming planet, and where that money should come from.
Source: AFP
