JAKARTA – COP29 ended nearly without a deal in Baku, Azerbaijan. In the end, the world’s meeting on commitments to save the planet ended with an agreement worth 300 billion US dollars a year.
Developed countries should provide US$300 billion per year by 2035 to support greenhouse gas emission reductions and decarbonization in developing countries.
The climate fund is not new. With the same intent, developed countries agreed to provide $100 billion a year. But the agreement expires next year.
For developing countries, a commitment of US$300 billion per year is still relatively small. China and India have proposed more than US$500 billion. Developed countries have not demonstrated much willingness to mitigate climate change on a global scale.
In fact, developed countries contribute more than 67% of the greenhouse effect due to industrialization, causing even greater loss to developing countries.
Global warming is causing droughts, floods and extreme heat. These conditions lead to crop failure, hunger, migration of populations, and death. The poverty of the developing countries will be further exacerbated by the threat of global warming.
Amidst this, COP29 presented a sad picture. Many heads of state did not attend important and urgent meetings for the world. For example, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, Brazil, India and China.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had to urge world leaders gathered in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to attend the G20 this week to help save the stalled talks.
“A successful outcome at COP29 is still within reach, but it will require leadership and compromise, namely from the G20 countries,” stated Guterres at a press conference.
He emphasized these countries account for 80% of global emissions and should “lead by example.”
The failure of COP29 was also triggered by US president-elect Donald Trump’s statement that he would leave the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement agreed that countries must reduce the greenhouse gas emission effect by 43% until 2030 and the earth’s temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Developed countries must also provide a number of funds to help developing countries overcome the problem of global warming.
“The threat of global warming is imminent and delaying action is inhumane,” said Arsjad Rasjid, co-founder of the 5P Global Movement. “We must be together, even in the smallest of steps, for the sake of the earth.”
