Plus: Taliban officials to attend Cop for first time
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Tuesday, November 12, 2024 |
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Hello, I'm writing today's newsletter from the Cop29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, which began on Monday. World leaders, scientists, and climate activists have gathered for this annual UN conference, aiming to advance global climate action. This year's summit opened under a cloud of concern due to Donald Trump's return to the White House. The climate-denying president's victory poses a clear threat to environmental progress. Even without this development, Cop29 faced a daunting task: raising the over $1 trillion needed to prevent climate collapse and adapt to existing impacts. Disagreements persist over who will pay, how much, and the timeframe for funding. Campaigners are calling this Cop a "test for rich countries." However, the absence of many key world leaders, especially from developed nations, have dampened the mood. Doubts remain about the impact of any U.S. commitments, given the certainty that the next administration will likely reverse them. Mr. Trump is expected to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement again, repeating his previous withdrawal. He continues to dismiss climate change as a "hoax" and has pledged to expand drilling over the next four years. John Podesta, the climate advisor to the U.S. president and the highest-ranking U.S. official in Baku, sought to reassure attendees: "This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet." |
Participating world leaders and delegates pose for a family photo during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku (AFP via Getty Images) |
But apart from the US, other big leaders are missing in action too. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen is focusing on domestic duties while Germany's Olaf Scholz and France's Emmanuel Macron are also at home dealing with their own political hardships.
Canada, Australia and South Africa are sitting it out. Xi Jinping is absent again and even next host Brazil will not have a head of state after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cancelled his trip following a head injury.
However, officials from the Taliban are attending the UN climate summit for the first time. The militant group has been invited to the talks to "potentially participate in periphery discussion and potentially hold bilateral meetings", according to a diplomatic source. All eyes are on the UK now to take the lead, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledging an 81 percent cut in emissions by 2035. Setting the UK's greenhouse gas emission target, he said: "The race is on for the clean energy jobs of the future, the economy of tomorrow. I don't want to be in the middle of the pack; I want to get ahead of the game." The Independent will continue to bring you updates from Baku over the next two weeks, with an extra newsletter heading your way this and next Friday. If you have any questions about the summit, you can also join me live for an "Ask Me Anything" event on November 23 at 8am GMT – submit your question in advance here. |
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Life in the climate crisis |
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The young in Spain are often called the 'glass generation' as they're so fragile. But they have proved themselves unbreakable and put us all to shame in the wake of the floods in Valencia, writes Catherine Dolan – a Brit living in the region with her Spanish husband and four daughters. "I've seen them organising themselves into groups," Dolan observes, "equipping themselves with shovels, boots and gloves – and rising early day after day to make their way, mostly on foot, to help with the clean-up operation to support their fellow Valencians." |
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| Keir Starmer has argued that the climate transition presents an almost seven trillion-dollar (£5.43 trillion) investment opportunity. Read more |
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Climate diplomacy on a boiling planet doesn't stop for a climate denier. |
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Ben Goloff, senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, in a statement during the first day of Cop29. Read more |
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