COP29: What happened on day six of the UN climate conference?

It has been a relatively quiet day and we're wrapping up the blog for now.

As activists gathered for actions at COP29, progress on a new climate finance target stalled.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell urged leaders at the G20 meeting next week to make sure the climate crisis is "order of business Number One". He also emphasised the importance of the stepping up on climate finance.

"Here in Baku negotiators are working around the clock on a new climate finance goal. There is a long way to go, but everyone is very aware of the stakes, at the halfway point in the COP," he said.

"Climate finance progress outside of our process is equally crucial, and the G20’s role is mission-critical."

There's a break day for official proceedings at COP29 tomorrow which means we are taking a break too. But we'll be back bright and early on Monday morning. See you then!

People involved in protests say they have felt a trend in recent years of stricter rules from the United Nations organisers with COPs being held in countries whose governments limit demonstrations and the participation of civil society.

And some community spaces for prepping and organising have had to resort to going underground because of security concerns.

But the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - the body that runs the COPs - says the code of conduct that governs the conferences has not changed, nor has the way it's applied. COP29 organisers say there's space across the venue for participants to “make their voices heard in line with the UNFCCC code of conduct and Azerbaijan law safely and without interference.”

Activists say they feel stifled by COP29 rules and restrictions

Activists feel that only being able to protest within certain areas throughout the venue — when previous years have seen mass street marches in host cities — c…

As world leaders continue talks at COP29 in Baku, negotiators agree that substantial funding is needed to help lower-income countries adapt to climate change.

Divisions remain, however, over who should bear this financial responsibility. And the numbers for this new climate finance target are enormous. 

We took a look at the figures.

COP29: Tracking climate finance and global commitments

World leaders and negotiators at the UN climate conference are grappling with the challenge of setting a new climate finance target to meet the trillion-dollar…

Hundreds of activists formed a human chain outside one of the main plenary halls at COP29 earlier today.

They waved flags, snapped their fingers and hummed or mumbled chants in a silent protest. Many had their mouths covered with papers that read 'Silenced'.

An activist wears the word silenced during a demonstration at COP29. Credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong 

As they held up signs calling for more climate finance pledges, negotiators continue to try and work out a deal to deliver just that.

Lidy Nacpil, a coordinator with the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, told AP protesters like her are 'not surprised' by how the talks are going but past wins like the Loss and Damage fund keep them going.

“The role we play is to increase the pressure,” she said.

“We know we’re not going to get the results that the world needs in this round of negotiations, but at least to bring us many steps closer is our hope, is our aim.”

Activists participate in a demonstration at COP29. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool

Observers have also been disappointed at the pace of progress.

Mohamed Adow, of climate think tank Power Shift Africa, tells AP "This has been the worst first week of COP in my 15 years of attending this summit".

"There’s no clarity on the climate finance goal, the quality of the finance or how it’s going to be made accessible to vulnerable countries.”

“I sense a lot of frustration, especially among the developing country blocks here."

At the midpoint of COP29, the intricacies of negotiating a new climate finance deal are still dominating the main stage. Next week, climate and environment ministers from around the world are due to arrive in Baku which could start to get things moving.

“So far negotiators have been grappling with the technical details," says Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of World Resources Institute.

"The political wheels will finally start turning when ministers arrive. As we move into the final week of negotiations, we’ll need strong political will to build trust, bridge divisions between parties, and take us to the finish line. I'm optimistic that countries will coalesce around an ambitious overarching finance package here in Baku.” 

Clare Shakya, The Nature Conservancy’s global managing director for climate says the pace of negotiations in week one reminds her of how COPs felt before they were reinvigorated by the Paris Agreement.

"Apart from Article 6.4 progress on day one – which laid the foundation for countries to collaborate internationally on trading carbon units – the lack of major storylines has been unnerving at times."

Shakya says the clock is ticking, there's barely a week left to secure the $1 trillion needed to help the most vulnerable countries cope with what's coming.

"Given the shifting political tides in many countries right now, Baku represents our last, best chance to get climate finance right. COPs are often slow-moving processes, but they can also be inflection-points – and there’s still time for Baku to achieve a breakthrough."

Yesterday COP29 President Mukhtar Babayes told Euronews he thought it had been "a really good start" to the talks.

"We have a lot of meetings here and it is really very hot temperature of discussions now," he said. Progress on the new climate finance goal is happening, Babayes added, but it's "complicated".

COP president Babayev optimistic about outcome after five days

A letter signed by global leaders and renowned climate scientists calls for reform of the COP process.

If the videos you are seeing from this action seem a bit quiet, there's a reason.

There are reports that civil society groups have been told to keep the noise to a minimum at this year's big COP29 action as they march past the plenary hall. Slogans and chants have been reduced to a hum or whisper.

📣 Right now at COP29 📣

On the global day of action for climate justice we have formed a human chain around the venue.

Our voices will never be silenced.

It’s time that governments pay up and we see climate finance delivered. pic.twitter.com/p8svR3rW7g

— ActionAid (@ActionAid) November 16, 2024

#COP29: This year's big action at the climate conference feels different.

Civil society & #IndigenousPeoples are not allowed to chant, walk or clap.

And yet, here we are together in solidarity and strength, demanding #ClimateJustice & respect for all #HumanRights.#Silenced! pic.twitter.com/FWXkprmm4E

— Center for International Environmental Law (@ciel_tweets) November 16, 2024

Some more photos of actions taking place inside the summit today.

Activists from countries spanning the globe have assembled in a long line at #COP29 with artwork and signs from throughout the conference, to show the connectedness of the climate crisis worldwide and urge world leaders to commit to a strong climate finance deal this year.… https://t.co/0BNoFdMJEb pic.twitter.com/raT0mB1xQA

— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) November 16, 2024

Today is usually the biggest day of action for activists during these two-week talks. It is usually echoed around the world in a global day of action that has become an annual event.

Here are a few photos from actions taking place at the summit today.

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance during COP29. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool



People demonstrate with a sign that reads "keep your promises COP39 for the people". Credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong



An activist holds a sign that reads "no carbon markets". Credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong



Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels at COP29. Credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong

The UNEP's International Methane Emissions Observatory has detected more than 1,200 major methane leaks over the last 18 months.

But, the UNEP told COP29 yesterday that, despite these leaks being reported to the companies or countries responsible, just 15 have responded and fixed the leaks they found.

Though this number is low, the few that have been fixed have had a major impact. In Algeria and Nigeria, two leaks were plugged after notifications from the UNEP's Methane Alert and Response System were received.

Relatively simple fixes in both countries avoided annual emissions equivalent to around one million cars being taken off the road. And that's just two leaks.

"There are often simple repairs. We are quite literally talking about screwing bolts tighter in some cases," UNEP executive director Inger Andersen told the summit.

"Governments and oil and gas companies must stop paying lip-service to this challenge when answers are staring them in the face."

With only around 1 per cent of notifications resulting in a response, Andersen says you don't need to be a math genius to calculate the potential for significant wins.

Against the backdrop of Baku’s COP29 climate negotiations, the shores of the Caspian Sea are retreating.   

Bounded by Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran and COP29 hosts Azerbaijan, the sea is shrinking.

Discussing the issue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in August - the sea is bordered by Russia to its north - the country's president Ilham Aliyev was reported to have described the situation as “catastrophic”.

Water levels have dipped so dramatically that a medieval fortress, Sabayil Castle, long submerged by a 14th-century earthquake, is now visible above the waves.

And, according to local experts, climate change is partly to blame.

COP29’s host city Baku has its own local climate crisis

Against the backdrop of Baku’s COP29 climate negotiations, the shores of the Caspian Sea are retreating.

Yesterday, news emerged that more than 1700 fossil fuel-linked lobbyists had been granted access to the UN climate conference.

Today a new analysis shared with the UK's Guardian newspaper by the Center for International Environmental Law has found that at least 480 lobbyists working on carbon capture and storage (CCS) have also been granted access. It is roughly five times the number present at climate talks in Dubai last year despite the size of the talks having shrunk this year.

It is a controversial technology. It features heavily in many countries' climate plans and the fossil fuel industry has long backed it as a climate solution. But activists say it hasn't yet been proven to work at scale and doesn't solve many of the other problems of continuing to burn fossil fuels.

Though the IPCC says CCS should play a role in decarbonisation plans, its chair has warned that overreliance on the tech could cause the world to pass dangerous climate tipping points.

A new analysis from campaign group Beyond Fossil Fuels has found that European nations plan to add 80 GW of new gas-fired power generating capacity- an increase of 32 per cent on the current capacity.

As countries position themselves as global climate leaders at COP29, campaigners say it risks locking them into high-carbon power systems.

“We didn’t enter the digital age by bulk buying typewriters, and we won’t build a clean power system by constructing so many new gas plants,” says Alexandru Mustață, from Beyond Fossil Fuels.

Three big European countries rely on gas - and plan to use more

Three European countries are especially reliant on fossil gas for electricity generation - Italy, the UK and Germany.

 As G20 leaders prepare to head to  Rio de Janeiro next week, UN climate chief Simon Stiell has said the world is "expecting strong signals" on climate action.

"The G20 was created to tackle problems that no one country, or group of countries, can tackle alone. On that basis, the global climate crisis should be order of business Number One, in Rio next week.

"Climate impacts are already ripping shreds out of every G20 economy, wrecking lives, pummeling supply chains and food prices, and fanning inflation. Bolder climate action is basic self-preservation for every G20 economy. Without rapid cuts in emissions, no G20 economy will be spared from climate-driven economic carnage."

He emphasised the importance of finalising the new climate finance goal and said that stepping up requires both action inside the COP process and outside of it. 

"Here in Baku negotiators are working around the clock on a new climate finance goal. There is a long way to go, but everyone is very aware of the stakes, at the halfway point in the COP. Climate finance progress outside of our process is equally crucial, and the G20’s role is mission-critical."

Stiell said that the G20 must send "crystal clear" signals on finance, noting that debt relief is a "crucial part" of the solution on which the forum must make progress.

"In turbulent times and a fracturing world - G20 Leaders must signal loud and clear that international cooperation is still the best and only chance humanity has to survive global heating. There is no other way."

Former US vice-president now climate campaigner Al Gore says it is 'absurd' that the presidency of the UN climate talks is being repeatedly handed to petrostates.

“I think the process should be reformed,” Gore said of the COP summit process in an exclusive interview with Euronews's Robert Hodgson in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

“I think it's absurd to have, for example, what we had last year with the CEO of one of the dirtiest oil companies on the planet serving as the president of the COP,” he said in reference to the 2023 climate summit in Dubai.

Al Gore calls for reform of COP climate process

Former US vice-president now climate campaigner Al Gore said it is ‘absurd’ that the presidency of the UN climate talks is being repeatedly handed to petrostat…

Good morning, we're back to bring you the latest from day six of the UN climate conference.

It's nearing the end of the first week and negotiators are still working on a new climate finance deal. Today is also traditionally the biggest protest day of the talks with activists planning actions that will be echoed around the world.

Catch up on what you missed from day five below.

COP29: What happened on day five of the UN climate conference?

Euronews Green brings you the latest updates from the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.