COP29: World leaders meet in Baku, with big names missing

The two-day World Leaders Action Summit at COP29 got under way on Tuesday in Baku, Azerbaijan, with around 100 leaders taking part, although there are some noticeable absentees.

The top priority at this year's summit is expected to be landing a deal to boost funding for climate action in developing countries.

Some are pushing for the current pledge of $100 billion (€93 billion) a year to be raised by 10 times that amount at COP29 to cover the future cost of shifting to clean energy and adapting to climate shocks.

Without adequate financing, developing nations have warned that they will struggle to offer ambitious updates to their climate goals, which countries are required to submit by early next year.

Who skipped COP29? 

The leaders of the 13 biggest emitters of carbon — countries responsible for more than 70% of 2023's heat-trapping gases — will not appear at this year's gathering.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among the G20 leaders skipping the event.

Other absentees included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Brazilian President Lula da Silva. 

"It's symptomatic of the lack of political will to act. There's no sense of urgency," climate scientist Bill Hare told the Associated Press. 

But Yalchin Rafiyev, COP29 lead negotiator and Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister, emphasized that "success doesn't depend on one country alone."

"Unless all countries can slash emissions deeply, every country and household will be hammered harder than they currently are. We will be living in a nightmare," he said.

Azerbaijan president calls oil 'gift of God' 

Azerbaijan's President and COP29 host Ilham Aliyev, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the nearly 50 leaders speaking on Tuesday.

Aliyev repeated a controversial quote that oil, gas and other natural resources are a "gift of the God" and said nations should not be judged by their natural resources and how they use them.

"Quote me that I said that this is a gift of the God, and I want to repeat it today here at this audience," he told delegates. 

Azerbaijan has 7 billion barrels of oil reserves and was one of the first places in the world to start commercial oil production.

UK steps in 'climate leader' role

Starmer, meanwhile, pledged that the UK would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035.

While many of his Western allies skipped the meeting, Starmer said Britain was "building on our reputation as a climate leader" and that it has "a critical role to play."

"I've had a series of meetings here at COP this week because this government recognises that the world stands at a critical juncture in the climate crisis," he said.

The previous government committed in 2021 to curb these emissions by 78% over the same period.

'A deal is a must'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that time was running out in the fight against climate change.

"We are in the final countdown to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius," Guterres said. "And time is not on our side," he added. 

The Paris Agreement, a legally binding climate treaty signed by 196 countries after COP21 in 2015, calls for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.

However, this goal looks increasingly unlikely to be met. This year the limit is expected to be exceeded for the first time, while the target is a multi-year average.

The UN chief also said that nations needed to reach an agreement that does not leave developing countries "empty-handed" in their fight against climate change. "A deal is a must," he said. 

The Republic of Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso expressed concern over climate financing and said the new collective quantified goal "must be based on scientific data that takes into account the impact and needs of developing countries in tackling climate change."

Nguesso said over $1000 billion was needed and said the new goal needed to be defined from a perspective of "climate justice and the just transition."

kb/wmr (AFP, AP)