COP29 Baku: High time global leaders found a proper climate finance solution for the ones most affected

UN climate chief Simon Stiell addressed the audience at COP29 Summit in Baku on Monday. The UN climate conference is coming after another year of record-breaking global heat and extreme natural disasters. It’s being touted as the ‘Finance COP’.

Officially, the 29th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, COP29 Baku aims to enable countries to establish another annual climate financing target to replace the $100 billion pledge. The existing pledge expires at the end of the year and is being criticised as less.

“COP29 needs to stand and deliver – especially on climate finance,” Stiell noted in his statement on X, highlighting the need for human ingenuity and determination to tackle the global climate crisis. “In tough times, I don’t go in for hopes and dreams.”

COP29 Baku happening amid geopolitical uncertainties

Climate change is a key factor behind migration. It has also been putting some of the basic human rights in danger. Moreover, the entire global economy could collapse if nations fail to protect their supply chains from the rising costs linked to climate change.

Simon Stiell is the executive secretary of UNFCCC. He hails from Grenada – his home island of Carriacou got nearly flattened this past July by Hurricane Beryl. During the COP29 Summit, he spoke against a backdrop featuring images of the devastation.

The COP29 Baku runs through next Friday, November 22. It has convened leaders from different countries to find an effective solution to the climate emergency. The conference is also happening against a backdrop of deepening global geopolitical uncertainties.