The summit cut to the heart of the debate over financial responsibility of industrialised countries – whose historic use of fossil fuels have caused the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions – to compensate others for worsening damage wrought by climate change.
It also laid bare divisions between wealthy governments constrained by tight domestic budgets and developing nations reeling from the costs of storms, floods and droughts.
Countries also agreed Saturday evening on rules for a global market to buy and sell carbon credits that proponents say could mobilise billions more dollars into new projects to help fight global warming, from reforestation to deployment of clean energy technologies.
Countries are seeking financing to deliver on the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels – beyond which catastrophic climate impacts could occur.
The world is currently on track for as much as 3.1 of warming by the end of this century, according to the 2024 UN Emissions Gap report, with global greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuels use continuing to rise.
What counts as developed nation?
The roster of countries required to contribute – about two dozen industrialised countries, including the US, European nations and Canada – dates back to a list decided during UN climate talks in 1992.
European governments have demanded others join them in paying in, including China, the world’s second-biggest economy, and oil-rich Gulf states. The deal encourages developing countries to make contributions, but does not require them.
The agreement also includes a broader goal of raising $2 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035 – which would include funding from all public and private sources and which economists say matches the sum needed to address global warming.
Securing the deal was a challenge from the start.
Loading
Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory this month has raised doubts among some negotiators that the world’s largest economy would pay into any climate finance goal agreed in Baku. Trump, a Republican who takes office in January, has called climate change a hoax and promised to again remove the US from international climate cooperation.
Western governments have seen global warming slip down the list of national priorities amid surging geopolitical tensions, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and expanding conflict in the Middle East, and rising inflation.
The showdown over financing for developing countries comes in a year that scientists say is destined to be the hottest on record. Climate woes are stacking up in the wake of such extreme heat, with widespread flooding killing thousands across Africa, deadly landslides burying villages in Asia, and drought in South America shrinking rivers.
Developed countries have not been spared. Torrential rain triggered floods in Valencia, Spain, last month that left more than 200 dead, and the US so far this year has registered 24 billion-dollar disasters – just four fewer than last year.
Countries also agreed on rules for a global market to buy and sell carbon credits that proponents say could mobilise billions more dollars into new projects to help fight global warming, from reforestation to deployment of clean energy technologies.
Reuters
Get to the heart of what’s happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our fortnightly Environment newsletter.
