Page 3 - Cop29

India highlights 4 important aspects of global climate action at COP29

India emphasised that this ambitious, action-oriented approach depends on bold commitments from parties responsible for leading economy-wide emission reductions

COP29: India, developing world face EU resistance to climate finance

A new NDC, which forms the basis of climate finance, must be submitted by next February, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

COP29: UN climate chief calls for focus on climate action through politics

As the COP29 summit entered the second week, the UN climate chief called on Monday for swift resolution of less contentious issues and an urgent focus on major political decisions to advance global climate action. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell urged delegates to shed "bluffing and brinkmanship" and focus on pragmatic solutions to overcome the critical challenges ahead. During the plenary session here, Stiell stressed the need for collaborative progress. "We can't lose sight of the forest because we're tussling over individual trees," he remarked, warning against the stalling tactics of you-first-ism, where parties refuse to act until others take the lead. He emphasised that such approaches risk halting progress entirely. This is a recipe for going literally nowhere, Stiell said, adding that only parallel efforts from all parties could ensure a robust outcome. Azerbaijan, The Presidency of COP29 was praised for its ...

COP29: Young activists push for hope amid frustration at UN climate talks

Young people who attend the United Nations climate talks have a lot to be angry about. They've lost loved ones and months of school. They've lost homes and family farms and connections to their families' native lands. They haven't lost hope, though. Not yet. It has become so tiring for me to be just a poster child, said Marinel Ubaldo, who by age 16 had watched two back-to-back supersized typhoons destroy entire communities in her native Philippines. Missing a chunk of high school in the aftermath, because there was no school to go back to, was a wake-up call. Now 27, COP29 will be her sixth time attending the summit where leaders negotiate the future she will inherit. I guess I'm very pessimistic, but I'm going to be positive that this COP could actually bring more clarity, she said. Her pessimism isn't unwarranted. Fewer leaders were in attendance this year, with a backdrop of uncertainty as political will on climate unravels in major countries like the US and Germany. While many

COP29: Climate talks head into second week, coinciding with G20 in Rio

United Nations talks on getting money to curb and adapt to climate change resumed Monday with tempered hope that negotiators and ministers can work through disagreements and hammer out a deal after slow progress last week. That hope comes from the arrival of the climate and environment ministers from around the world this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the COP29 talks. They'll give their teams instructions on ways forward. "We are in a difficult place, said Melanie Robinson, economics and finance program director of global climate at the World Resources Institute. The discussion has not yet moved to the political level when it does I think ministers will do what they can to make a deal. Talks in Baku are focused on getting more climate cash for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels, adapt to climate change and pay for damages caused by extreme weather. But countries are far apart on how much money that will require. Several experts put the sum needed at around US

COP29 meet: Tea cultivation could decrease by over half, finds study

Agreements might not yet be brewing amongst negotiators at United Nations climate talks, but tea certainly is. It's one of the clearest reminders that the climate summit COP29 is hosted by Azerbaijan. Attendees who roam for miles within the indoor venue have ample options to take a pit stop for sugar and caffeine: shops stack high mountains of pastries with sugary, nutty pakhlava and cardamom-tinged, crescent-shaped shekerbura. At Azerbaijan's country pavilion, women in Baku's traditional dress pour the warm drink for visitors. All of it, like daily life in the city outside, revolves around tea which climate change threatens around the globe. As world leaders descend on the capital city of Baku for climate talks, researchers who study tea report that in some regions around the world, tea cultivation could decrease by over half as rising temperatures, drought, heavy precipitation and erosion batter tea plants and the land they grow on. Scientists are studying ways to improve tea .

COP29: Talks in Baku make progress on climate funding as deadline nears

Distractions were bigger than deals in the first week of United Nations climate talks, leaving a lot to be done, especially on the main issue of money. In week one, not a lot of progress was made on the issue of how much money rich countries should pay to developed ones move away from dirty fuels, cope with rising seas and temperatures and pay for damage already caused by climate-driven extreme weather. But more is expected when government ministers fly in for week two to handle the hard political deal-making at the negotiations known as COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Countries remain about a trillion dollars a year apart in the big number to be settled. All the developing countries look very united behind USD 1.3 trillion. That's not a ceiling. That's what they want. That's what they think they need, said Debbie Hillier, policy lead at Mercy Corps. The U.S. and Canada are constantly talking about a floor of USD 100 billion.... So you've got USD 100 billion at one end and USD 1.3 ...

No progress at COP29 in matters critical to developing countries: India

At COP29 in Baku, India has expressed frustration with developed countries for not seriously discussing how to support climate action in developing nations, saying it is impossible to tackle climate change without financial and technological help. Delivering a statement in the closing plenary of the subsidiary bodies' meeting on the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) on Saturday, India said that developed countries, which have historically contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions and have more resources and the ability to act on climate change, have repeatedly delayed climate action and continuously shifted goalposts. "We have seen no progress in matters that are critical for developing countries (during the last week). Our part of the world is facing some of the worst impacts of climate change, with far lower capacity to recover from those impacts or to adapt to the changes to the climatic system for which we are not responsible, India's deputy lead negotiator, Neelesh Sah, ...

European Union corners India, developing world over carbon tax at COP29

The tax, or CBAM, is to be imposed by EU in 2026 on products whose manufacturing processes do not follow certain emission standards

COP climate talks need reform, no longer fit for purpose: Climate leaders

Delegates struggled for hours on the opening day to agree an agenda and the mood has been soured by doubts about the United States' future role under a Donald Trump presidency, diplomatic spats

India's fragmented climate response limits women's role as leaders: Study

Despite progress in gender-focused policies, India's climate response remains fragmented, and its national climate policy still lacks a consolidated, gender-responsive climate finance strategy that could more comprehensively support women as climate leaders, according to a new report. The report by research and public policy consulting firm Chase India, supported by Global Counsel, underscores this gap, calling for coordinated, gender-responsive climate finance frameworks to position women as central agents of climate resilience rather than passive beneficiaries. The report was presented on Thursday during the COP29 climate summit here in Azerbaijan's capital. Programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which has provided over 103 million rural women with access to clean cooking fuel, and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, which has mobilised millions of women in sustainable livelihoods, demonstrate India's commitment to gender-responsive policies. However, these ...

Challenge to climate change need concerted efforts: Dr Swaminathan at COP29

Almost everyone in India is now vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, former chief scientist of the World Health Organisation Dr Soumya Swaminathan has said, underscoring the urgent need for cross-ministerial and international collaboration to address its effects on health, gender and economic stability in the country. Swaminathan pointed to women and children as especially vulnerable to these climate-driven health risks. In an interview with PTI on the sidelines of global climate talks COP29 here in Azerbaijan's capital, Swaminathan called for a concerted approach, saying, practically everyone in India is now vulnerable to climate change impacts, from extreme heat to vector-borne diseases. Addressing this requires close cooperation. We know that climate change has disproportionate impacts on women and children, she explained, noting how women, particularly in rural areas, face increased health risks due to continued reliance on solid fuels for cooking. She emphasised that .

A 34-page complex climate finance draft sparks concern in COP29 summit

An overly lengthy 34-page draft on a new climate finance goal emerged on the third day of the UN climate talks in Azerbaijan's Baku on Wednesday, but the text is filled with repetitions and duplications, making it difficult to work with. While it includes all the elements everyone wanted, there is growing concern as three days have already passed with little progress. Observers say all negotiating groups have now asked the co-facilitators to condense the document to make it more manageable. The G77 and China group requested the co-chairs to organise the draft text by themes and not add new ideas to it. There were three options for structuring the climate finance goal in the draft framework prepared in October by the co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Work Programme on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). The new draft now presents 13 sub-options too. The new finance text is expected to include the same options for the goal as the previous two drafts. One of the options is a specific dol

COP29: India, other developing nations demand fair climate finance pledges

India, as part of the Like-Minded Developing Countries bloc, stood firm in calling for equitable financial support from developed nations at the ongoing COP29 climate negotiations, multiple sources from the grouping said here. Concerns were also raised that nearly 69 per cent of reported finance came in the form of loans adding burdens on the already vulnerable countries. At the annual climate talks, India negotiates in key groupings such as the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), G77 and China, and BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, and China), where it aligns with other developing nations to advocate for climate finance, equity, and technology transfer. On Tuesday, G77 and China -- the largest bloc representing around 130 countries at the UN climate talks -- rejected the draft text of a framework for negotiating a new climate finance goal. The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is the central issue at this year's climate summit, the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) to

COP2: Here's why a climate breakthrough has rarely looked bleaker

The wavering global commitment is particularly worrying because the coming 12 months will be vital for setting the next decade of climate policies

COP29: Rich nations try to shift pollution responsibility to India, China

But Global North is sidestepping their responsibilities and deflecting the core issue of historical pollution, participants said

COP29 climate agreement a boost for India's carbon market ambitions

This agreement enables climate action by increasing demand for carbon credits and ensures that the international carbon market operates with integrity under UN supervision

Explained: COP29 kicks off in Azerbaijan— What’s on the agenda?

The global climate conference, COP29, has begun in Baku, Azerbaijan, gathering nearly 200 countries to discuss urgent climate issues. What's on the agenda? Watch the video to find out.

Host nation Azerbaijan defends oil, gas sector at COP29 amid West criticism

Azerbaijan's oil and gas revenues accounted for 35 per cent of its economy in 2023, down from 50 per cent two years earlier. The government says these revenues will decline to 22 per cent by 2028