After weeks of tense negotiations and dramatic walkouts, nearly 200 countries reached a landmark climate finance agreement at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, early Sunday morning. Wealthy nations committed to providing $300 billion annually by 2035 to assist developing countries in addressing the impacts of climate change and transitioning to renewable energy.
"This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country," said Simon Stiell, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as the deal was finalized at 2:40 a.m. local time, more than 30 hours past the summit's scheduled conclusion.
The agreement, however, has drawn sharp criticism from developing nations, which have long called for significantly greater financial support. Chandni Raina, India's representative, denounced the pledge as a "paltry sum" and described the agreement as "nothing more than an optical illusion." She argued that the deal "fails to address the enormity of the challenge we all face."
The funding is intended to help vulnerable nations recover from devastating weather events and adapt their economies to clean energy. But the $300 billion figure falls short of the $1.3 trillion that economists estimate is necessary to adequately respond to the climate crisis.
"We are leaving with a small portion of the funding climate-vulnerable countries urgently need," said Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands. She criticized the summit for showcasing "the very worst of political opportunism" and accused fossil fuel interests of actively working to "block progress and undermine the multilateral goals we've worked to build."
The new commitment will combine public and private funding, with a goal of scaling up to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. However, developing nations had pushed for $500 billion per year in grants rather than loans, which they argue will only deepen their debt burdens. Wealthy countries rejected this demand, citing economic constraints.
"We have arrived at the boundary between what is politically achievable today in developed countries and what would make a difference in developing countries," said Avinash Persaud, a climate advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank.
The agreement also encourages wealthier emerging economies, such as China and Saudi Arabia, to make voluntary contributions but does not impose binding obligations on them. This provision drew criticism, with Li Shuo of the Asia Society Policy Institute calling the deal "a flawed compromise" that reflects "the harder geopolitical terrain the world finds itself in."
The atmosphere at COP29 was particularly fraught, given its location in Azerbaijan, a petrostate. Over 1,700 fossil fuel lobbyists registered to attend the summit, according to analysis by Kick Big Polluters Out, a coalition of environmental groups. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, openly opposed references to oil, coal, and gas in the agreement.
"It's been another shady, oil-stained COP," said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. She added, "Public interest in this COP has been low, and cynicism feels like it has reached an all-time high."
The urgency of climate action was underscored by 2023 being virtually certain to become the hottest year on record. Extreme weather events, including catastrophic floods, deadly hurricanes, and severe droughts, have disproportionately impacted developing nations.
"This has been the most horrendous climate negotiations in years due to the bad faith of developed countries," said Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network. "This was meant to be the finance COP, but the Global North turned up with a plan to betray the Global South."
Despite the criticism, the $300 billion pledge represents a step forward in addressing climate finance, building on the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, many experts warn that the gap between political commitments and practical action remains vast.
"We must persist in our fight, demanding a significant increase in financing and holding developed countries to account," said Harjeet Singh of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. As the impacts of the climate crisis escalate, developing nations are expected to continue pushing for greater support to address a crisis they had little role in creating.
