Political issues Trump green issues at COP29

Another turbulent day at COP29 as more private jets left from Baku’s airports.  

The discussions over the Paris Agreement are going to have to do without Paris for a bit as French negotiators are making an early, “French Exit” from COP29. The French delegation took flight following the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, criticising “colonial” France in a speech. The Aliyev tied climate change to “neocolonialism” as he vowed to support small island nations under threat from sea level rises. Many, he said, were “so-called overseas territories of France” that were “brutally supressed by the regimes”. France, unhappy with the comments, and unable to keep their cool (a bit like the Paris Agreement) upped sticks and left the conference early.   

Not the only early exit today, Argentina’s delegation, representing the government of President Javier Milei, also unexpectedly withdrew from COP29 after just three days. Milei, who has previously dismissed the climate crisis as a “socialist lie,” had hinted at pulling out of the Paris Agreement during his campaign (though he later stepped back from that position). His delegation’s decision to exit the summit has once again raised doubts about Argentina’s commitment to global climate efforts. Many have seen it as a sidling up to Donald Trump as the US President-Elect appears to have retained all the same climate scepticism that he had during his first term. 

And the media is obsessed with the circus, with news around the early leavers from COP29 dominating the news. In fact, it’s all that Bloomberg is talking about, with every relevant story on its homepage focusing on the politics of the negotiations, rather than the serious debates. Even discussions over the cardboard chairs that are being used feature prominently on the Bloomberg news site, rather than what should have been the all-important “Finance Day” at COP.  

And it’s a big deal today – potentially one amounting to $1 trillion annually by 2030. A new report from the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, a panel of leading economists, has revealed that poorer nations will need $1 trillion a year by 2030 to cope with climate change impacts and reduce emissions. However, wealthier countries are unlikely to provide this level of funding until 2035, delaying the critical support that the report says vulnerable nations need now.  

But no, no progress has been reported on that. Instead, it’s dominated by news that even the Canadian Climate Minister has gone home. Canada is a country that is usually seen as a staunch supporter of climate finance and environmental measures. The Canadian exit appears to be because of a key vote in the Canadian Parliament – but regardless of the reason, it’s yet another major absentee from this creaking COP.  

“Parties must remember that the clock is ticking,” COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev told a news conference earlier today. For many parties at COP 29, the only clock that is ticking is the one in the departure lounge.