By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital
Hello!
It is the second day of the second week at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and there has been little progress in finding a way of providing trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects.
It boils down to "bluffing, brinkmanship and premeditated playbooks," according to the United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell.
Developed countries, including those in Europe, argue that the contributor base needs to be expanded to include richer developing countries, such as China and richer Middle Eastern countries to agree on an ambitious goal.
But developing countries, such as G20 host Brazil, have pushed back on expanding beyond developed countries, the main culprits behind climate change.
All chat, no action
Over at the meeting the Group of 20 leaders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaders called for "rapidly and substantially increasing climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources."
But while the G20 joint statement said nations needed to resolve the issue, they did not suggest a solution for the U.N. summit.
Economists suggest that the goal should be at least $1 trillion annually.
Stalling on fossil fuels
Another contentious area of discussion has been how to move forward with a deal struck in Dubai last year on transitioning from climate-damaging fossil fuels.
A dispute over this delayed the start of negotiations last week and it looks like little progress has been made towards resolution.
European and small island countries have run up against the Arab group of nations on how prominent the future of fossil fuels should be on the agenda and how countries should be held accountable for the promises they made last year.
China's President Xi Jinping attends the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares
Today's COP29 news
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a raft of measures to support the Global South, including an Open Science International Cooperation Initiative with Brazil, South Africa and the African Union. Brazil has taken strides to elevate the voices of the Global South by insisting that the African Union should be a formal member of the G20.
United States President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association fund for the world's poorest countries, but it remains unclear if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will honor Biden's pledge as he seeks to slash U.S. spending through a new government efficiency panel.
The G20 also committed to agreeing on a legally binding treaty to limit plastic pollution by the end of 2024, with talks on the subject set to resume next week aiming to end over two years of negotiations to hammer out a deal.
In Conversation
Olga Petryniak, senior director for East Africa resilience programmes at non-profit, Mercy Corps, shares her thoughts on COP29's thematic day on food, water, and agriculture:
"As the effects of climate change deepen and accelerate, East Africa faces some of the most acute consequences, from persistent droughts to unpredictable rainfall patterns that disrupt entire food systems and displace countless thousands of people.
"As a result of both climate change and increasing conflict, we are witnessing a troubling rise in hunger. Smallholder farmers and pastoralists here are on the frontlines, with their livelihoods threatened by water scarcity, crop failures, and rising food prices.
"COP29 presents an opportunity to scale-up funding in order to deliver real impact for these communities – those least responsible for climate change but hardest hit by its impacts.
"We must see a commitment to climate finance that is accessible, equitable, and structured to empower these communities to lead their own adaptation efforts. They need support to innovate and build resilience without the burden of debt. This is the only path to real progress."
Talking Points
A drone views shows firefighters while they work to extinguish a wildfire at El Cajas National Park, in Cuenca, Ecuador. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos
Ecuador's government declared a 60-day national emergency due to raging forest fires made worse by a severe drought, risk management officials said.
Child protection: More than 200 children have been killed and 1,100 injured in Lebanon in the past two months, the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) said, after Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah.
Exclusive: Ghana is clamping down on private pension fund managers who want to invest in offshore assets because of concerns it could worsen pressure on its cedi currency, three industry sources told Reuters.
Women's rights: A Wyoming judge ruled that two anti-abortion laws passed by the state legislature violate Wyoming's constitution, keeping abortion legal in the state for now, local media reported.
ESG Spotlight
Paraskevi Kouvdi works in the family's pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece. REUTERS/Elias Marcou
Today's spotlight shines a light on a cultural preservation initiative in Greece.
In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nikos Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honored with inclusion in UNESCO's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.
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