Khairul Alam, Cop-29 Summit: The climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, is entering its final stages, but doubts and uncertainties persist as the event nears its conclusion.
Despite the crucial discussions taking place, the conference, which began on November 11, is ending today, Friday, with little progress on key financial decisions.
The main goal of the summit is to secure funding from wealthy nations for poorer and low-income countries, to help them cope with the effects of global warming.
However, the crucial question remains: Will these financial commitments materialize? This uncertainty has led to widespread frustration.
Several organizations have staged protests, pushing world leaders to release climate funds for the affected nations.
Bangladesh, among other countries, has called for international cooperation. Activists argue that without financial support, the world’s future is at risk.
The United Nations climate body has proposed a new plan to determine the level of financial support wealthy nations should provide to developing countries for tackling climate change.
However, negotiations are still slow, and key decisions have not yet been made. The latest draft of the proposal was presented hours after the set deadline.
Despite the summit’s scheduled end on Friday, many crucial issues remain unresolved.
Discussions on how to calculate annual financial aid, which countries will contribute, and the sources of these funds are still pending.
As a result, there is growing doubt about the summit’s ability to finish on time.
Amid the ongoing financial negotiations, there are speculations that the summit might extend into COP29. In the history of COP, only a few summits have been completed on time.
Before the summit even started, controversy surrounded the role of host country Azerbaijan, which relies on fossil fuels for about 60% of its revenue.
The absence of several global leaders has added to the frustration, and the influence of corporate and fossil fuel lobbyists has raised concerns.
Island nations, which are most vulnerable to rising sea levels due to climate change, have called for an end to the use of fossil fuels, which are the primary cause of the crisis.
Economists have estimated that developing countries will need at least $1 trillion annually by 2030 to address climate change.
However, disputes between developed and developing nations over these issues are well-documented in the draft documents.
Key donor countries, including the European Union, have stated they are unwilling to commit to specific financial contributions until the structure and details of the funding framework are clarified.
The funding issue has been a point of contention for many years and remains one of the biggest challenges of COP29.