Amid the alarm bells of climate urgency, COP29 is expected to witness tangible progress on the thorniest issues.
With less than two months to go until COP29 takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, the world is showing signs of "running out of steam" in implementing solutions to protect the blue planet. Tough issues such as sharing climate finance contributions and reducing fossil fuel consumption are still causing much controversy among the parties.
With a growing number of lawsuits against companies around the world over climate change, the COP29 host country has a heavy responsibility to chart a course for the upcoming conference to achieve landmark results that will help prevent further delays in meeting current climate targets.
The most prominent of the goals set by Azerbaijan for COP29 is to agree on a new annual level of funding that rich countries will spend to help poor countries cope with climate change.
Azerbaijan has also set out 14 initiatives to raise the climate ambition of countries, including the creation of a new fund to be voluntarily contributed to by fossil fuel producing countries and companies.
Disagreements over climate finance have plagued previous COP negotiations, with developed countries responsible for large emissions being criticised for not contributing their fair share.
Disagreements over climate finance have plagued previous COP negotiations, with developed countries responsible for many emissions being criticized for not contributing adequately. Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology Mukhtar Babayev acknowledged the issue had been one of the thorniest in climate negotiations and "there are strong and well-founded views on all sides."
According to statistics, rich countries have pledged to contribute about 661 million USD to the Loss and Damage Fund, but this figure is just a "drop in the ocean" compared to the more than 400 billion USD that experts say developing countries need each year to offset losses caused by climate change.
In June 2024, the Bonn Climate Change Conference, which was considered a preparatory conference for COP29, ended in a deadlock due to disagreements over financial issues.
Countries disagree on how much to contribute, who should be given priority for funding, and how it should be used. Some countries argue that countries with high emissions and economic capacity, such as China or oil-producing countries, should contribute.
According to Euronews, another divisive issue is whether financial provision should be in the form of funds or loans. Developing countries believe that loans should not be counted towards the contributions of developed countries.
For rich countries, a series of challenges such as the uncertain global economic outlook and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East also hinder the sharing of financial responsibility.
With the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, the climate crisis is gradually reaching the "point of no return".
The severe floods that have just devastated Central Europe or the extreme heat in Asia and Africa this summer show that responding to the climate crisis must become one of the top priorities of countries.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised: "The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived."
The summer of 2024 was the hottest on record, according to the European Union's climate monitor, extending an alarming run of temperature records that has put the planet firmly on course to notch its hottest year in human history.
The upcoming COP29 conference is being dubbed the “financial COP” by the public as it aims to make important decisions on climate finance. However, with current controversial issues, climate negotiations will face many thorny issues due to conflicting interests between countries.
