UN climate talks went into extra time on Saturday after key players rejected a $1.3 trillion deal put on the table by Azerbaijan, as negotiators made a last-ditch bid to bridge "chasms" between rich and poor countries at the Cop29 summit.
The proposal would set a $250 billion per year floor for funding for the fight against climate change to be arranged by the rich world – well below what developing countries have been asking for. Donors and investors would be asked to "work together" towards hitting $1.3 trillion by 2035.
Emerging economies such as China and Brazil would be invited to contribute, after the US and Europe demanded the costs be split beyond the traditional rich world. The $250 billion core would come from a "variety of sources", including public and private funds, despite a push from poorer nations for direct grants.
Talks stretched past their Friday deadline at Baku Stadium, as countries sought last-minute changes to the pact. Brazil wants to push the "inner" target up to $390 billion, while African states objected to a goal for which "all countries are responsible" with the developed world merely "taking the lead".
Brazil, the host of next year's Cop, expressed concern at the late hour in which concrete figures were finally put forward. Speaking to the media, Marina Silva, Brazil's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said "we know the figure is not sufficient". In place of the $250 billion core proposed in the latest text, Ms Silva said $300 billion is needed until 2030, and $390 billion until 2035.
Ana Toni, Brazil's Secretary for Climate Change, said that what negotiators seek now is clarity as the language in the current draft leaves a lot of margin for interpretation.
A key group of small islands threatened by rising sea levels said it was "deeply disappointed" by what it called an unacceptable proposal that asked: “How low can you go?”. It said it "cannot be expected to agree to a text which shows such contempt for our vulnerable people".
In an appeal to the "moral conscience" of other nations, the Alliance of Small Island States said its members had borne the burden of climate change for three decades and all they asked was for the protection offered under the Paris climate agreement. "This ask is not a threat," it said. "It is just a matter of justice."
The chair of an African negotiating group, Ali Mohamed, called the $250 billion figure "totally unacceptable and inadequate", as the talks headed into extra time. A lack of funds would "lead to unacceptable loss of life in Africa and around the world", he said.
The US did not rule out supporting the deal but many activists in Baku were unhappy. "The amount is a joke. It's totally a joke and it's unacceptable," said Obed Koringo, a charity adviser from Kenya. "We're better not having a deal than having a bad deal, and this is a very bad deal. We want our leaders to do better."
The text, tabled just hours before the scheduled end of negotiations, is the first attempt by Azerbaijan to broker a compromise in the difficult talks. The $1.3 trillion figure was a demand of developing nations, but many had asked for $900 billion of it to come directly from governments in the rich world. Azerbaijan said there were "few options remaining" as it told countries to agree on "final adjustments".
Agreeing language on fossil fuels was a further sticking point, amid fears raised by the EU and Germany of backsliding on the "transition away" agreed at last year's Cop28 summit in Dubai. Saudi Arabia said it opposed text that "targets specific sectors, including fossil fuel".
"How can a mitigation text not mention fossil fuels? The basis for the climate crisis," said Hailey Campbell, director of campaign group Care about Climate. "Mitigation, just transition, and finance must be in lock step, we can’t accept anything else for our future and that of the planet.”
Delayed finish
The two-week talks were due to end at 6pm on Friday - and did not - but Cop summits rarely finish on time. An extra 23 hours were needed to agree last year's UAE Consensus, and a second day of overtime is not unheard of. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said everyone was prepared for the talks to roll on with the "clock ticking mercilessly".
"We are seeing at this Cop the chasms between positions of different states come to the fore," said Nikki Reisch, watching the talks for the Centre for International Environmental Law. Complaints have been heard about Azerbaijan's failure to "identify bridges between positions" instead of "merely reflecting back the great divide", she said.
That divide was spelt out in earlier negotiating texts put on the table by Azerbaijan, which asked countries to help with "bridging proposals" between two opposing options to replace a previous $100 billion a year target. Sindra Sharma, a Fijian delegate representing the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, said she awoke on Friday with a "complete sense of frustration".
She said it was "really disappointing" that the texts on the table do not include specific sub-goals for emissions cuts, adaptation and disaster recovery. "We’re hoping that can be reflected back into the text but at this stage it feels really frustrating that we probably won’t be able to get there," she told The National.
A senior US official said the previous $100 billion goal had been a "significant lift" and reaching $250 billion would "require even more ambition and extraordinary reach", including funds from private investors and development banks.
The new $250 billion sub-goal "is clearly a lot less than developing countries need and are hoping for,” said Rob Moore, a former UK finance negotiator and director at climate think tank E3G. “If developed countries can go further they need to say so fast to make sure we get a deal at Cop29”.
The European Union and China have held side talks with the Alliance of Small Island States as delegates wait for white smoke at the Baku Stadium. Splits also emerged within a powerful group of small and medium-sized economies over whether to accept the US and European demands to widen the pool of donors. China, Russia and India are among the major polluters who are not asked to pay towards climate efforts under current UN rules that class them as developing.
Cop29 in Azerbaijan – in pictures
Ministers were convened on Thursday for what the hosts called a qurultay, a word for a traditional meeting in Azerbaijan, but it appeared to make little progress as delegates panned an earlier draft text that made clear the gap between the rich and developing world's proposals.
The WWF's Shirley Matheson said leaving Baku without a finance deal could make the job at Cop30 in Brazil next year harder. Ms Matheson said a “flood” of national climate action plans – known as Nationally Determined Contributions – are to come next year and any agreement in Baku would help shape them.
“A lot of the parties here are looking for the right signals and the confidence that they can submit real action which will close the ambition gap … and that will be backed by finance,” Ms Matheson, a global NDC enhancement co-ordinator at the fund, told reporters on Friday.
“I think the risk is if we are deciding to have this discussion again in Brazil, the dynamics will change,” Ms Matheson said, highlighting "trust" issues. “It's really, really important that they do come out with a decision this time.”
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SWEET%20TOOTH
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The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
More on animal trafficking
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
