Crucial talks on climate finance still “risk falling short”, the Cop29 presidency has said.
Cop29 president-designate Mukhtar Babayev said some progress has been made but countries need to put aside rigid negotiating positions and compromise.
Finance is expected to dominate Cop29 in Azerbaijan from November 11 to 22, with countries still deadlocked on how to deliver more funds to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.
Mr Babayev’s comments came on Thursday at the conclusion of technical talks in Baku that ran from September 9 to 12 and sought to lay the groundwork for a breakthrough.
“We are on the right track and have come a long way but we still risk falling short,” said Mr Babayev in a statement. “Determination and leadership is needed from all parties to bridge the gaps that still divide us in this critical final phase.”
Cop29 will be staged in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, and the pressure is on the gas-rich nation on the Caspian Sea to deliver.
Countries need to agree a new financial target to replace the $100 billion-a-year pledge from developed countries to help developing countries deal with climate change.
The money is sorely needed in vulnerable countries on the frontlines of the crisis that lack the funds to transition from fossil fuels and become more resilient to the impact of climate change, from floods to drought.
The financial target is formally known as the “new collective quantified goal” but, as the recent talks show, countries remain some way from clinching a deal.
Wealthier countries are facing calls to provide more funds to assist developing countries. But parties remain at loggerheads over how much to pay and several have pushed China and Gulf countries to contribute.
Mr Babayev said the recent talks mark the beginning of the end, and now a substantive framework for a draft negotiation text on the finance goal would be developed.
This framework would serve as the basis for the presidency’s final period of intensive political and technical engagements ahead of what is hoped will be a deal at Cop29 that is “fair and ambitious” that “takes into account the needs and priorities of developing country parties”.
“This is our top negotiating priority for Cop29 in Baku, with these meetings offering a critical opportunity to make progress in realising this ambition,” said Mr Babayev.
Preparations are in full swing at Baku Stadium, the Cop29 venue. Photos posted to social media show Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's president, visiting the site. Organisers previously said they were expecting up to 50,000 attendees.
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Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
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