Trump and trade worries cloud COP29 climate summit in Baku
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The annual U.N. climate summit, opening in Baku, Azerbaijan, faces challenging negotiations on climate finance and trade amidst intensifying global climate impacts.
Developing nations are pushing for substantial financial commitments, with a proposed target of $1 trillion annually, to replace the expiring $100 billion pledge. Complicating the agenda are economic crises, geopolitical conflicts, and the recent re-election of Donald Trump, a climate-change skeptic, as U.S. president, potentially leading to U.S. disengagement from global climate efforts.
Azerbaijan, while urging global transition away from fossil fuels, faces scrutiny due to its heavy reliance on oil and gas, which still account for a significant share of its economy, despite efforts to reduce this. Azerbaijan has proposed a Climate Finance Action Fund, aiming to gather up to $1 billion from extractive industries in ten countries, and continues to promote gas as a “transition fuel.”
China, representing the BASIC group (Brazil, India, South Africa, and China), has also complicated the summit’s agenda by pushing for discussions on restrictive trade measures, including the EU’s carbon tariffs and Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign goods.
Environmentalists criticize Azerbaijan’s promotion of gas as a “clean” energy option and point to concerns about its human rights record, adding a layer of controversy to its role as summit host. As climate extremes affect both wealthy and poorer nations, experts warn that political shifts must not hinder collective climate action, which is critical to averting worsening climate impacts.
