The COP29 UN Climate Summit which was scheduled for Nov. 11-22, went into overtime on Nov. 23, and finally concluded after a complete brawl in the early hours of Nov. 24 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Ironically, Azerbaijan is an oil-rich nation, and its oil and natural gas exports account for about 95% of its total export revenues.
The deal on paper would have the wealthy developed countries pledging to provide $300 billion annually by 2035 to poorer countries to help them cope with what they aver are the increasingly catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis. However, the deal was sharply criticized by some participants as being inadequate.
“The amount pledged, however, falls far short of the $1.3 trillion economists say is needed to help developing countries cope with a climate crisis they have done least to cause—and there has been a furious reaction from many developing countries,” reported CNN.
In a fiery speech immediately after the gavel went down, India’s representative Chandni Raina slammed the $300 billion as “abysmally poor” and a “paltry sum,” calling the agreement “nothing more than an optical illusion” and unable to “address the enormity of the challenge we all face,” CNN quoted her as saying.
