At the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, an agreement was reached two days ago obligating wealthy nations to pay 300 billion dollars annually to poorer countries by 2035 to combat climate change.
The deal was struck among 200 nations after two weeks of difficult negotiations that nearly ended in failure. However, poorer countries argue that the agreed financial amount is insufficient.
On the other hand, Mukhtar Babayev, a key figure in Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and the president of COP29, stated that Azerbaijan succeeded despite doubts that it would.
Furthermore, the pledged amount is significantly lower than the 1.3 trillion dollars economists estimate developing nations need to tackle climate change. Indian representative Chandni Raina described the 300 billion dollars annual pledge as “nothing more than an optical illusion.”
Moreover, some summit participants believe the agreement reflects the determination of fossil fuel advocates to block progress and undermine multilateral goals. This summit also saw the glorification of fossil fuels.
