COP29 hosts unveil busy program as main climate agenda stalls

PARIS: 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.
With two months to go, Azerbaijan — which has remained upbeat despite the deadlock — has unveiled over a dozen initiatives on the sidelines that it hopes will “supplement” the difficult talks.
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 programs 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.”
The fund needs $1 billion and 10 countries as shareholders to launch. Azerbaijan says there has already been early interest, but has not offered specifics.
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.
This target will replace the $100 billion that wealthy countries agreed to pay in climate aid, every year, from 2020.
That amount was only reached for the first time in 2022, and has long been criticized as grossly inadequate.
The lead-up to COP29 has been slow, and two months until the final deliberations nations are no closer to agreeing on what the new figure should be, and who should pay it.
The UN published a draft document in late August setting out seven rough options for a finance deal, laying bare the conflicting positions between nations.