Turbulence until the end of the debates, leaden atmosphere and blind direction by the Azerbaijani presidency… After two weeks of a slow descent towards an indeterminate landing strip, on the 29thmy The Climate Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, concluded on Sunday, November 24 in the division.
At the end of the night, a deal on climate finance was certainly achieved through a fight. But it was immediately questioned loudly by some developing countries in an electric atmosphere, unprecedented at the heart of this consensus-governed UN forum. The climax of two weeks during which the COP’s multilateralism, until now largely protected from geopolitical crises and ongoing wars, was crashed into a wall between North and South.
Around three o’clock at night from Saturday 23 to Sunday 24 November, after the arrival of a final text and multiple moments of hesitation, COP President Mukhtar Babayev uses the same technique as some of his predecessors, such as Laurent . Fabius, during COP21 in Paris, or Sultan Al-Jaber during Dubai, last year. A quick look around the room and his gavel falls, sealing the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). Crucial text of this conference, the agreement foresees that developed countries pay 300 billion dollars (287 billion euros) in financial aid to developing countries to finance their climate transition between now and 2035.
Far from expectations
After applause and a standing ovation from the room, the representative of India took the floor. “We are hurt, very hurt by what the presidency and the secretariat have donedeclared Indian delegate Chandni Raina, who had indicated that she wished to speak before the gavel. India does not accept this proposal in its current form. This document is an optical illusion. »
She is acclaimed, as are the representatives of Cuba, Bolivia and Nigeria, who accuse rich countries of not assuming the cost of their historic greenhouse gas emissions. “Developed countries want us to respect the +1.5°C warming threshold, but they oppose developing countries having the means to reduce their emissions”continues Diego Pacheco, head of the Bolivian delegation. New applause in the plenary session of the COP, which had never experienced such a protest. A snub for Azerbaijan and a deep dent in climate diplomacy.
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