And the biggest dilemma is who should be held responsible for what. The so-called Global South is seeking funding from the developed world to make its way to left-behind countries that have played no historic role in the climate crisis. On the other hand, developed countries are asking developing countries to take decarbonization efforts with the aim of protecting their industrial and technological competitiveness.
Complicating matters is China’s position, which accounts for a third of the world’s emissions more than any other country. Despite this, the United Nations still considers it to be a developing country. This means that the United Nations is not formally bound to the same economic involvement as the world’s historically big polluters. However, Beijing may choose to make bold commitments to boost its international prestige.
Who is there and who is missing?
Delegations from nearly 200 countries came to Baku. Among the first to arrive were Americans who had been traveling last week.
However, outgoing US President Joe Biden is not scheduled to attend the summit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also absent, and is busy with the establishment of the new EC in early December. She will be replaced by European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who has a reputation as an excellent diplomat. Brussels’ negotiating position has been affected in recent weeks by the tragic floods in Valencia, Spain, which demonstrate the need to commit more resources to climate adaptation.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, embroiled in a government crisis, will not be attending. So will French President Emmanuel Macron, due to disagreements with Baku over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict involving Azerbaijan and Armenia. Along with him, most French NGOs will also not be participating.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is also staying at home and plans to dispatch a new climate envoy, Liu Zhenmin. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brazil’s President Lula will be succeeded by Environment Minister Marina Silva. The leaders of Japan, Australia (another major polluter) and Mexico will also not attend.
Papua New Guinea’s decision to boycott COP29, one of the countries most affected by climate change, has caused a stir. Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said: “The world’s major emitters have all pledged millions of dollars to help fight climate change.” “But we can already say that everything will then be handed over to the consultants, who will request not to go too far into the countries in question.”
What impact will the US election have?
The elephant in the room is Donald Trump’s recent victory. In 2016, President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, which set a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Joe Biden then rejoined the climate agreement as soon as he arrived in the White House.
The problem is that President Trump’s intentions remain difficult to interpret. President Trump has indicated that he intends to withdraw from the Paris Agreement again and from the United Nations convention that oversees the COP, but said, “Such a move would mean that Washington would not even be at the negotiating table as an observer.” “Deaf,” says Jacopo Bencini. Researcher at the Carbon Markets Hub at the European University Institute in Florence.
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