Summit host Azerbaijan warns COP29 can’t succeed without G20 support
BAKU – Leaders of the world’s biggest economies must send a clear signal on the need to tackle global warming, COP29 climate summit host Azerbaijan said on Monday.
The plea came as Group of 20 (G20) leaders began arriving on Monday at Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Art Museum for their annual summit.
In Baku, nearly 200 countries gathered for COP29 with the primary goal of reaching an agreement on how to provide trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects, yet discussions on a new finance target and emission cuts have stalled.
“We cannot succeed without them, and the world is waiting to hear from them,” said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, adding: “They account for 85% of global GDP and 80% of emissions.”
“We urge them to use the G20 meeting to send a positive signal of their commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We want them to provide clear mandates to deliver at COP29,” he told a press conference in Baku.
While the G20 appeared to have made progress on climate finance, the details remained unclear to those in Baku before the text was released, leaving uncertainty about what had been agreed and how it would influence talks, which had entered their second week in Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell warned leaders who are set to arrive to help drive forward a deal, not to waste time with “bluffing, brinksmanship, and premeditated playbooks.”
“We’ll only get the job done if parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground,” he said, adding, “So let’s cut the theatrics and get down to real business.”
