COP29: G20 teams given ‘marching orders’ to seal a finance deal at UN climate summit

We’re wrapping up our COP29 live blog for now. Here are some of the key developments from day eight - with more detail if you scroll down.

• The conclusion of the G20 summit in Rio sent mixed signals to negotiators in Baku. UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the communique delivered a clear message to secure a successful new finance goal. But many were hoping for stronger language on fossil fuels.
• 1,000 days on from its full-scale invasion by Russia, Ukraine has been in the spotlight - rallying leaders to reject fossil-fuelled conflict.
• The UK, New Zealand and Colombia have joined an international coalition of countries working to remove subsidies for fossil fuels. 
• Hundreds of lobbyists with ties to the agricultural industry are wandering the halls and speaking on panels in Baku, a new analysis revealed.
• And with climate finance talks crawling along, we took a dive into alternative ways of raising the much-needed trillions here - from a billionaire tax to a frequent flyer levy.

Join us again tomorrow for live updates on day nine.

Fittingly given our last post, Russia has been awarded ‘Fossil of the Day’ by activists at Climate Action Network International (CAN).

On the 1000th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian climate advocacy group Razom We Stand called on leaders at COP29 to reject fossil-fuelled conflict and embrace a peaceful future built on renewable energy.

Since 24 February 2022, experts estimate that Russia has earned €787 billion in revenue from fossil fuels.

"One thousand days of war, financed by fossil fuels, is one thousand too many. The path to true peace does not pass through pipelines or oil fields,” says Svitlana Romanko, Razom We Stand’s founder and executive director.

“The fossil fuel industry’s grip on COP29 demonstrates the dangerous intersection of energy and conflict.”

The group points not only to the 1,700-strong presence of oil and gas lobbyists at the summit, but also what it calls the “deeply troubling” relationship between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin met during COP29 last week to discuss “mutually profitable initiatives” in the oil and gas sector. 

Hundreds of lobbyists with ties to the agricultural industry are attending COP29 in Baku, a new analysis has shown. 

Up to a third of global greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to come from the agricultural industry. Emissions from livestock alone make up almost a third of human-caused methane emissions, according to UNEP.

Despite this, representatives from some of the world’s biggest agribusiness companies are attending the UN climate conference, according to an analysis by investigative journalism outlet DeSmog and UK newspaper The Guardian.

Hundreds of agriculture lobbyists flock to COP29, analysis reveals

An analysis by DeSmog and The Guardian found that representatives from some of the world’s biggest agribusiness companies have travelled to Baku for the……

Earlier this afternoon, Euronews science reporter Jeremy Wilks spoke to Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, about how the climate crisis is impacting Europe.

You can catch up on their live conversation from Brussels below.

Hottest day, year, decade: How is Europe facing the climate crisis?

2024 has shattered records: the hottest day, the hottest year, and the warmest decade ever. Join us live from our headquarters in Brussels on 19 November……

The UK made waves at COP29 by announcing an ambitious new emissions reduction target of 81 per cent by 2035 on the second day of the conference last week. Although, despite reports to the contrary, it has not actually filed its updated contribution to the global effort. 

In fact, so far only the UAE, Brazil and Switzerland have published in full their ‘third nationally determined contribution’ - known as the NDC 3.0. The deadline’s not until February, so no major rush.

The UK's national pavilion at COP29. Photo: Robert Hodgson/Euronews

The British pavilion at the Baku stadium venue is rather less cutting edge, dominated as it is by an ‘iconic’ red, cast-iron telephone kiosk - a piece of post-Brexit kitsch the likes of which all but disappeared from British streets after the network was privatised in 1984. 

Incidentally, global atmospheric CO2 concentration was 345ppm back then. It had risen to 421ppm last year, and in 2022 the mean annual temperature in the cradle of the industrial revolution exceeded 10°C for the first time in recorded history.

The UK, New Zealand and Colombia have just joined an international coalition of countries working to remove subsidies for fossil fuels. 

The Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies (COFFIS) was launched last year at COP28 by the Netherlands. It now has 16 members - also including Austria, the federal government of Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxemburg, Spain and Switzerland.

At a press conference in Baku this afternoon, these countries committed to coming to COP30 with national plans to phase out 'inefficient' fossil fuel subsidies.

Commenting on the UK’s inclusion, senior political advisor at Greenpeace UK Rebecca Newsom says:



“The UK’s decision to join this coalition is another indication that British climate diplomacy is finally coming out of its slumber after several dormant years under the Tories. Further collaboration around tackling fossil fuel subsidies can only be a good thing.

“But given G7 and G20 leaders have repeatedly signed statements over many years to tackle this issue, now is the time for real action. UK fossil fuel production subsidies are worth billions every year. These should be redirected immediately, alongside extra taxes on the fossil fuel industry, to unlock cash to deliver on the UK’s climate finance obligation to support developing countries.

“It’s time to make polluters pay for the climate damages they have caused.”

Almost three years into Russia’s war on Ukraine, it is clearly important for the government to keep the spotlight on the scale of destruction across the country. Kyiv is counting on international support for its green recovery, so has a major stake in the final form of the global climate finance goal that is the object of fractious negotiations here in Baku. 

At COP29, governments are also finalising global rules on carbon credits - a system that would allow rich countries to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement in part by ‘buying’ emissions reductions from others. Kyiv sees “a lot of potential” in carbon markets, its negotiator on the issue Natalie Kushko said in Baku last week.

Ukraine’s COP29 pavilion is a living art installation. Photo: Robert Hodgson/Euronews

Ukraine’s national pavilion at COP29 is a living art installation, with murals by artist Oleksandra Zhumailova painted on paper embedded with live seeds. On display is a solar panel shattered in a missile strike in the Mykolaiv region, and virtual reality headsets allow visitors to explore the environmental damage from the war. 

The toll is, of course, formidable: Kyiv has tallied over 6,500 crimes against the environment during Russia’s execution of the war and estimates greenhouse gas emissions related to the military action have reached 180 million tonnes - about half of Poland’s annual output. An area three times the size of Switzerland rendered deadly by landmines, almost 3 million hectares of forests damaged, the list goes on...

Fragments of the mural will be planted after the summit by partners around the world, the germinating seeds symbolising Ukraine’s recovery. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the UN Development Programme, and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy are among the supporters of the exhibit.

Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svitlana Grynchuk will be speaking this evening to mark the grim milestone of 1,000 days of war.

In limiting conditions, climate activists have been finding creative ways to get their messages across.

This morning, COP-attendees entered the conference past a bevy of debt collectors. “Pay developing countries what you owe!” they told polluters. 

In matching ‘debt collector’ outfits and carrying a 10m-long giant itemised ‘invoice’ addressed to developed countries, the activists demanded an ambitious new climate finance goal. 

"With only a few days left in this finance COP, rich polluting countries must step up and pay up,” said Agnes Schim Van Der Loeff from ActionAid Netherlands.

“Climate finance is not charity, and it is not optional. Climate finance is essential to safeguard a liveable planet for all, and it is a debt that developed countries owe to the Global South. We are here to collect that debt." 

The activists held up a banner reading “Rich countries pay your climate debt”. Photo: ActionAid

A 10m-long giant itemised ‘invoice’ addressed to developed countries. Photo: ActionAid

Flora Vano, ActionAid Vanuatu, had another powerful message to share: “In the community I live in, everyday a mother worries about ‘what if’. What if flash flooding comes and sweeps away one of her kids while on her way to or from school? What if a landslide happens when they are doing gardening? 

“While we are here (at COP29), we want to make sure that wealthy nations think of small island states, communities that are facing hardships and don’t have the means of rebuilding back better with cyclone-proof houses and food storage that can last us through the multiple disasters we face. 

“We need the funds to help us recover and cope and build better lives. Without the funds, we will keep on suffering.” 

One announcement from the COP29 Presidency yesterday was the launch of ‘the Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief, and Recovery’.

This initiative to address the concerning links between climate change and armed conflict is a collaborative effort with “an unprecedented set of Global North and South countries”, according to a statement from the presidency: Egypt, Italy, Germany, Uganda, the UAE and the UK.

There is a growing recognition that water scarcity, food insecurity, land degradation, human displacement and other climate disasters can act as catalysts for violent conflict and instability, especially in the most climate-vulnerable regions.

The Baku Call (or BCCAP) seeks to help remedy this with a new Baku Climate and Peace Action Hub, to be hosted in Azerbaijan. 

It aims to aid collaboration between various existing peace and climate initiatives around the world; to develop a strategy for preventing climate-induced conflicts; and to scale up support for climate and conflict vulnerable nations with high humanitarian needs. 

“We appreciate the confidence of the Co-lead partners in entrusting Azerbaijan to host the Hub,” said Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov, while launching BCCAP at a COP29 event yesterday.

"Together, we must seize this critical moment to deliver bold and inclusive solutions, to turn pledges into tangible actions so that the climate and peace nexus will eventually bear not a connotation of crisis and destruction but the one of peace and development.” 

The Baku Call “prioritises support for the most vulnerable groups, including women, children, and youth, who bear the brunt of these intersecting crises,” added COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev.

China’s historical emissions have now caused more global heating than the 27 member states of the EU combined, according to new analysis from Carbon Brief.

It shows that 94 per cent of the global carbon budget for 1.5C has now been used up, as cumulative emissions since 1850 have reached 2,607bn tonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2).

While developed countries have used the majority of this budget, the analysis finds that China’s historical emissions reached 312GtCO2 in 2023, overtaking the EU’s 303GtCO2.

China is still far behind the 532GtCO2 emitted by the US, however, according to Carbon Brief.



+++NEW ANALYSIS: China’s CO2 emissions have now caused more global warming than EU+++

Our new analysis comes as the "principle of historical responsibility" is being cited in #COP29 talks on a new climate finance goal

THREAD with details, caveats + bonus chart… pic.twitter.com/4eRnXbqO6Z

— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 19, 2024

More reactions are coming in on the G20 declaration, gavelled through in Rio yesterday.

Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute says:

“The G20 Leaders’ Summit has reaffirmed that just, equitable climate action must remain at the center of the global agenda. Negotiators in Baku should build on the G20 Leaders’ Summit and rally behind a strong new climate finance goal.

“The shadow of Donald Trump’s recent election in the United States was expected to cast a shadow over the G20 Summit, yet leaders stood by their dedication to collaborate on some of the world's most pressing issues, including financial reform, poverty, hunger and clean energy.

“Despite sending positive signals on the energy transition and the need to scale up renewable energy and improve energy efficiency, it’s unfortunate that the G20 failed to reiterate the commitment to shift away from fossil fuels, which all countries agreed to at COP28 in Dubai.”

Champa Patel, executive director of Governments and Policy at Climate Group, comments:

“The good news is that with limited progress being made in Baku, at least the G20 leaders declaration affirms the UAE consensus and Global Stock Take, reinforcing the importance of tripling global renewables capacity, doubling energy efficiency and tackling deforestation.

“But there is one glaring exception. To little surprise, transitioning away from fossil fuels is not mentioned once. Reportedly, this is down to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to delete the relevant paragraphs. The GST is very clear that the world must move away from fossil fuels.



"That any country can act as a spoiler on what has already been agreed undermines ambition and sends the wrong signal.” She adds:

“It’s outrageous that in 2024, which is already the hottest year on record, the biggest economies in the world can’t state the truth: that we need to phase out fossil fuels now."

World leaders are concluding the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro with a joint statement on the planet’s most pressing issues. 

There are many references to climate change, and an endorsement of last year's COP28 deal which called for countries to transition away from fossil fuels.

But the section on COP29 is slight, simply stating they “look forward to a successful New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) outcome in Baku.”

UN climate chief Simon Stiell says it sends a clear message to negotiators, however: “do not leave Baku without a successful new finance goal.  This is in every country’s clear interests.” 

Backdropped by Sugar Loaf mountain, leaders attending the G20 Summit posed for a group photo in Rio de Janeiro yesterday, 18 November. Credit: AP/Eraldo Peres

Stiell continues: “Leaders of the world’s largest economies have also committed to driving forward financial reforms to put strong climate action within all countries’ reach.  This is an essential signal, in a world plagued by debt crises and spiraling climate impacts, wrecking lives, slamming supply chains and fanning inflation in every economy.

“Leaders have reinforced that global cooperation is utterly essential, and COP29 must show how it's done, with an ambitious new finance goal, as the central pillar of a balanced package.

“Stronger new national climate plans are also essential, as the G20 leaders note, to move much faster to a clean-energy and climate-resilient global economy right now.

“G20 delegations now have their marching orders for here in Baku, where we urgently need all nations to bypass the posturing and move swiftly towards common ground, across all issues.”

But some officials and climate campaigners had been hoping for more direction. 

Veteran climate activist Harjeet Singh has accused G20 leaders of a “stark failure”. 

“Their rehashed rhetoric offers no solace for the fraught COP29 negotiations, where we continue to see a deadlock on climate finance,” the global engagement director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative adds.

Who should foot the climate finance bill - from loss and damage funds to new funding targets - has become an enduring controversy at recent COPs.

Experts have said that at least $1 trillion (€948 billion) needs to flow to developing nations by 2030 and a new climate finance goal known as the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) hangs in the balance in Baku.

Rich countries are calling for the pool of contributors to be widened. As developing nations deal with the growing frequency and scale of climate disasters, the urgency for these funds increases.



There are big gaps that rich nations will need to fill with innovative forms of finance. From levies on high carbon activities to wealth taxes, what are some of the alternative ideas on the table for raising this cash?

‘Tax the mega rich’: Who could foot the COP29 climate bill?

“It makes common sense to tax mega polluters and the mega-rich to ensure that we have the money needed for climate action at home and globally” according……

Good morning and welcome to day eight of our live COP29 coverage. 

Climate finance negotiations are ongoing in Baku, and there is renewed pressure to secure a successful deal from world leaders at the G20 summit in Brazil.

Food, agriculture and water are in the spotlight today too.

We'll be here keeping you up to date on what's going on at the UN climate conference so stay tuned.

If you missed any of the action yesterday take a look at our coverage from day seven to catch up.

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