COP29 has opened with pledges for increased climate funding from global banks and renewed calls for urgent action. Developing nations seek stronger commitments from wealthy countries to combat climate change impacts, as Indigenous leaders push for representation in future climate decisions.
BAKU, Nov 13 (Reuters) - COP29 negotiators welcomed a pledge by major development banks to lift funding to poor and middle-income countries struggling with global warming as an early boost to the two-week summit.
A group of lenders, including the World Bank, announced on Tuesday a joint goal of increasing this finance to $120 billion by 2030, a roughly 60% increase on the amount in 2023.
"I think it's a very good sign," Irish Climate Minister Eamon Ryan told Reuters on Wednesday.
"It's very helpful. But that on its own won't be enough", Ryan said, adding countries and companies must also contribute.
China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said on Tuesday that Beijing has already mobilized around $24.5 billion to help developing countries address climate change.
Ryan's view was echoed by Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation who welcomed the announcement as "a shot in the arm for the climate finance discussion."
"But there is so much more work ahead," he added.
The chief aim of the conference in Azerbaijan is to secure a wide-ranging international climate financing agreement that ensures up to trillions of dollars for climate projects.
Developing countries are hoping for big commitments from rich, industrialized nations that are the biggest historical contributors to global warming, and some of which are also huge producers of fossil fuels.
"Developed countries have not only neglected their historical duty to reduce emissions, they are doubling down on fossil-fuel-driven growth," said climate activist Harjeet Singh.
Wealthy countries pledged in 2009 to contribute $100 billion a year to help developing nations transition to clean energy and adapt to the conditions of a warming world.
But those payments were only fully met in 2022 and the pledge expires this year.
'GET IT DONE'
Hopes for a strong deal have been dimmed by Donald Trump's U.S. election win. The President-elect has promised to again withdraw the U.S. from international climate cooperation.
The United States is already the world's largest oil and gas producer and Trump has vowed to maximize output.
Officials representing President Joe Biden's outgoing administration at COP29 have said China and the European Union may need to pick up the slack if Washington cedes leadership.
"We have a clear choice between a safer, cleaner, fairer future and a dirtier, more dangerous, and more expensive one. We know what to do. Let's get to work. Let's get it done," U.S. climate envoy John Podesta told the conference.
With 2024 on track to be the hottest year on record, scientists say global warming and its impacts are unfolding faster than expected.
Climate-fuelled wildfires forced evacuations in California and triggered air quality warnings in New York. In Spain, survivors are coming to terms with the worst floods in the country's modern history.
Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Australia, the Pacific and Eastern Europe said on Wednesday they intend to work together to ensure indigenous people have a say in future climate decisions.
The group said it was pushing for an indigenous co-presidency at next year’s COP, which is meant to be held in Brazil’s Amazon, as well as at future COP conferences.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama told the conference he was concerned that the international process to address global warming, now decades old, was not moving swiftly enough.
"Life goes on with its old habits, and our speeches, filled with good words about fighting climate change, change nothing," Rama said.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to speak this week to discuss recent trade tensions, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
On June 3, Baku will host an international scientific conference entitled "Imperial Structure: Colonial Ideologies and Realities."
The second day of the international conference on Islamophobia has started in Baku, focusing on unveiling biases and combating discrimination.
Armenia announced its readiness to host the next ministerial meeting during the third “3+3” consultation platform held in Istanbul in 2024.
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are deepening their economic and political ties, with joint ventures increasing fivefold and trade turnover tripling in just five years, signaling a new strategic phase in bilateral cooperation.
France will contribute an additional €200 million to support reconstruction projects and Ukraine’s integration into the European market, - Prime Minister Denis Shmygal has announced.
The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Burkina Faso met in Astana, marking the first such visit in history and setting the stage for deepened cooperation across various sectors, as Kazakhstan actively expands its engagement with the African continent.
Following his swift election, President Lee Jae-myung is expected to take a cautious approach to U.S. trade negotiations, using the transition period to reassess his strategy while monitoring the moves of China and Japan.
Tesla’s car sales in the UK plummeted by over 45% in May 2025, as growing political backlash and stronger competition impact the brand’s market share despite a booming electric vehicle sector.
Taxi drivers across France are protesting government plans to cut payments for driving patients to medical appointments. These cuts are part of a broader effort by Prime Minister François Bayrou to save €40 billion in the 2026 budget and reduce the country’s large deficit.
Brazil’s economy is expected to have regained momentum in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a surge in household spending and private investment, according to a Reuters poll of economists conducted from May 21–26.
As peace talks progress, voices from Yerevan, Tbilisi, and Baku reveal hopes, concerns, and expectations for a future shaped by trade, trust, and generational change in the South Caucasus.
In a major blow to one of President Donald Trump’s key economic policies, a US federal court has blocked the administration’s sweeping global tariff regime, ruling that the White House overstepped its constitutional authority.
A bridge collapse in the Vygonichsky district of Russia’s Bryansk region, near the Ukrainian border, caused a train derailment and a traffic accident early Sunday, killing at least seven people and leaving 30 injured, according to emergency services.
A surge of over 200 wildfires across Canada has forced tens of thousands to evacuate, with smoke drifting into the U.S. Midwest, triggering health alerts and affecting daily life on both sides of the border.
Japanese researchers have unveiled a new plastic that fully dissolves in seawater within hours, offering a promising solution to the escalating crisis of ocean pollution and microplastics.
Prosecutors in Brazil have filed a lawsuit to annul a $180 million carbon offset agreement signed by the state of Para, citing legal and ethical violations in the high-profile rainforest conservation initiative backed by major global firms.
Europe is facing yet another climate-driven drought, with hotspots like Spain, Cyprus, and Greece under severe alert. Hydropower, agriculture, and tourism are already feeling the pressure after an unusually hot spring.
EU climate advisers are urging the bloc to stay firm on its 2040 climate target, warning that shortcuts could jeopardize long-term progress.
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are deepening their economic and political ties, with joint ventures increasing fivefold and trade turnover tripling in just five years, signaling a new strategic phase in bilateral cooperation.
France will contribute an additional €200 million to support reconstruction projects and Ukraine’s integration into the European market, - Prime Minister Denis Shmygal has announced.
The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Burkina Faso met in Astana, marking the first such visit in history and setting the stage for deepened cooperation across various sectors, as Kazakhstan actively expands its engagement with the African continent.
Following his swift election, President Lee Jae-myung is expected to take a cautious approach to U.S. trade negotiations, using the transition period to reassess his strategy while monitoring the moves of China and Japan.
Tesla’s car sales in the UK plummeted by over 45% in May 2025, as growing political backlash and stronger competition impact the brand’s market share despite a booming electric vehicle sector.
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