A tough climate: COP29 meeting is not expected to yield much progress

COP29 intends to build on that consensus by putting funding by the Global North front and centre. But the prospects of convincing developed countries to loosen the purse-strings appear bleak

This year may have been the hottest on record but the Conference of Parties (COP29) meeting at Baku is expected to generate much heat and little light on the way forward for the climate-change agenda. The problems begin with the host nation. Azerbaijan’s heavy dependence on fossil fuel, the chief cause of climate change, makes it a poor exemplar for the issue at hand. Second, the world’s most critical players — the United States, the European Union, and Brazil (and host for COP30 next year) — are expected to stay on the sidelines. The minister for environment, forest and climate