COP29 Negotiations: The Race to Agree on Climate Finance

With less than three months to go before the COP29 UN climate negotiations, countries are still far from reaching an agreement on a new funding target to help developing countries cope with climate change. A recently published document outlines seven options reflecting different national positions, highlighting the complexities ahead of a crucial meeting in Baku.

With less than three months until this year's COP29 UN climate negotiations, the task of agreeing on a new funding target to help developing countries cope with climate change remains contentious. A document released by the U.N. climate body on Thursday highlights the divisions between nations, just ahead of a significant meeting in Baku next month.

The document outlines seven potential agreements, showcasing the competing positions of various countries for a possible COP29 deal. The new target aims to replace the current commitment of wealthy nations to provide $100 billion each year in climate finance to developing countries. Vulnerable and developing countries seek a substantially larger funding goal, while donor countries like Canada and the European Union argue that significant increases in public funding are impractical due to strained national budgets.

'We have come a long way, but there are still clearly different positions we need to bridge,' said incoming COP29 summit president Mukhtar Babayev, who also serves as Azerbaijan's minister of ecology and natural resources. Babayev announced that intensive negotiations on the finance goal would take place ahead of the COP29 summit in Baku in November.

(With inputs from agencies.)