BAKU, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Countries agreed to a hard-fought COP29 deal to provide $300 billion in annual climate finance by 2035.
But while some delegates reacted to the agreement's early Sunday with a standing ovation, others voiced anger and lambasted wealthy nations for not doing more.
Here are some of their comments:
U.N. FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY SIMON STIELL
"It has been a difficult journey, but we've delivered a deal. This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
"This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing and protect billions of lives. It will help all countries to share in the huge benefits of bold climate action: more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all.
"But like any insurance policy – it only works – if the premiums are paid in full, and on time. No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps."
INDIA REPRESENTATIVE CHANDNI RAINA
"We are disappointed in the outcome which clearly brings out the unwillingness of the developed country parties to fulfil their responsibilities."
"I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document,"
U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES
"I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome – on both finance and mitigation – to meet the great challenge we face. But this agreement provides a base on which to build. It must be honoured in full and on time. Commitments must quickly become cash."
BOLIVIA REPRESENTATIVE DIEGO PACHECO BALANZA (speaking via a translator)
"We need a finance which will properly grant us the resources we need to take steps. The finance that is hugely below our requirements is an insult and it is a flagrant violation of justice and climate equity.
"Climate finance, as it stands in this agreement, is extinguishing international cooperation. We are moving on from the time of leaving of no-one behind to an era of let every man save himself."
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For months, efforts to secure the Red Sea have focused on what is happening in the water. Naval deployments have increased, governments have expanded maritime cooperation and shipping companies have adapted to persistent security threats.
Greenland has issued a “strong warning” to a U.S. oil company linked to President Donald Trump after drilling equipment was brought ashore without the required government approvals, according to British media.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
Extreme heat and historically low river levels are forcing nuclear power plants across Southeast Europe to reduce production, increasing pressure on already stretched electricity supplies and prompting governments to call for lower consumption.
Flash floods in Gansu Province in China's northwest last week killed 25 people and injured 23 more, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, raising earlier death tolls.
Three firefighters have died as wildfires continue to burn across Greece, with Crete facing a second day of intense blazes driven by strong winds. The fires come as Europe battles destructive wildfires fuelled by extreme heat and drought.
An impending "super" El Niño is likely to inflict a combined $10 billion to $20 billion hit on affected African countries and trigger mass migration from hard-hit areas, the African Development Bank's (AfDB) top climate expert said.
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