By AFP - Agence France Presse
UN climate chief calls for G20 to spur tense COP29 talks
Julien MIVIELLE
The UN climate chief urged G20 leaders on Saturday to push COP29 negotiations towards a deal to raise money for developing nations as diplomats struggled to find common ground in a marathon negotiating session.
Negotiators worked through the night to produce a new draft agreement before ministers arrived next week for the final days of the COP29 talks in a Baku sports stadium, but differences remained.
“There is a long way to go, but everyone is aware of the risks, halfway through the COP,” UN climate chief Simon Stiell said in a statement.
Stiell called on the leaders of the Group of 20, which includes the world's leading economies and polluters, to speak out when they meet in Brazil on Monday and Tuesday.
“As the G20 leaders head to Rio de Janeiro, the world is watching and waiting for strong signals that climate action is a central issue for the world's largest economies,” said Stiell.
“The G20 leaders must signal loud and clear that international cooperation is still humanity's best and only chance of surviving global warming,” he said.
Some developing countries, which are the least responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions, want an annual commitment of US$1.3 trillion to help them adapt to climate impacts and make the transition to clean energy.
The amount is well above what donors, including the United States, the European Union, and Japan, currently pay.
But negotiations are deadlocked over a final figure, the type of funding, and who should pay, with developed countries wanting China and rich Gulf countries to join the list of donors.
“We know that we need at least 1.3 trillion for low- and middle-income countries. And that has to be the final figure,” Irish climate minister Eamon Ryan said earlier this week.
“The question is what this is made of,” he said.
Wealthy nations, facing their own economic challenges and political pressures after years of high inflation, are reluctant to commit large amounts of money to their public budgets alone.
Buried in debt, developing countries don't want the money to come in the form of loans.
- 'A lot to be done' - You have nothing to do.
The last draft of the agreement was 25 pages long and still contained several options.
Samir Bejanov, deputy chief negotiator for COP29 host Azerbaijan, said nations were given more time to produce a new text on Saturday.
“There is still much, much to be done,” Bejanov told a press conference.
“In the last few days, some people doubted that collectively we could deliver. It's time for the negotiators to start proving them wrong,” he added.
Observers described a tense atmosphere in the negotiating rooms in the Azerbaijani capital.
“The strong divisions between North and South prevent the negotiators from addressing the main issues on the agenda,” said Iskander Erzini Vernoit, director of the Imal Initiative for Climate and Development, a think tank based in Morocco.
Tensions also arose after some nations specified how much they should receive from any agreement.
A bloc of less developed nations, mostly from Africa, asked for $220 billion, while small island states threatened by rising seas want $39 billion.
Friederike Roder, vice president of the non-profit organization Global Citizen, said the latest draft contains a “jungle of options” that makes “insufficient progress or even goes backward” on some key points.
“What is urgently needed is real political momentum and energy from world leaders as they gather for the G20 summit in Rio,” she said.
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