The Grand Finale in Baku: Money Promised, Climate Ignored

$300 Billion for Transition, Zero Mention of Fossil Fuels

A screengrab of cop29.com, the URL hijacked by environmental justice campaigners. The site was blocked in Azerbaijan by the authorities. Kirkylad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Just a few words about the finale of the COP29 in Baku. (You can read more here and here). Nations pledged at least $300 billion annually by 2035 to help developing countries transition to cleaner energy. While this is a welcome step it’s a far cry from the $1.3 trillion that developing countries had asked for, highlighting a significant gap in the necessary funding.

Yet the most glaring omission in Baku wasn’t financial. It was the failure to address the elephant in the room that stares us all in the face: Fossil fuels

At last year’s COP in Dubai, there was at least some nod to the elephant, with nations agreeing to

… transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science

Not surprisingly, the world's largest oil producers had applauded the agreement's focus on an "orderly" transition away from fossil fuels. And why not? After all, this approach aligns neatly with their strategy of profiting from fossil fuels while gradually shifting toward renewables.

But this year, even that cautious language was missing. Delegates from oil state Saudi Arabia repeatedly tried to block mention of fossil fuels from COP29’s outcome documents. The result? Not only there was no decision on how, exactly, to begin this “orderly” transition – but fossil fuels are not explicitly mentioned in the outcome documents.

Without drastically cutting emissions, all the financial commitments in the world will amount to little more than patchwork.

Fossil fuels must be front and centre, not sidestepped if we’re serious about real progress. Anything less is just rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.

---

Thank you for reading this Substack. If you think someone else might enjoy this too, please spread the word. If you have any feedback, please comment below.

Sources:

Developing nations blast $300 billion COP29 climate deal as insufficient | Reuters

Cop29 talks hit wall as developing nations storm out over cash offer | The Times

Here's what to know about the new funding deal that countries agreed to at UN climate talks | AP News

Big oil welcomes COP28 call to move away from fossil fuels in ‘orderly’ way | Financial Times