Former France envoy and Cop28 adviser Paul Watkinson has called for the autocratic President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to be kept away from Cop29 talks in order to reinvigorate negotiations. Watkinson cites the precedent of UK PM Boris Johnson being absent from Cop26 negotiations as a way to keep embarrassing leaders out of the spotlight.
Meanwhile, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, comprised of major plastic-producing companies, has been shown to have produced huge amounts of new plastic in the past five years, contradicting their promises to reduce plastic waste. The alliance has only removed a small fraction of the plastic they have produced from the environment.
At Cop29, the issue of climate finance is a key concern, with the Maldives Climate Minister advocating for vulnerable nations to receive adequate funding to address the impacts of climate change. The Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation is also urging governments and financial institutions to prioritize climate finance for food systems, highlighting successes in Brazil, Cambodia, Norway, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.
Negotiators at Cop29 are working towards finalizing texts on climate finance, mitigation, adaptation, and national climate pledges, with a focus on conciseness and specificity in order to facilitate decision-making. With frustration mounting as talks enter the final stretch, the need for reforming the Cop system and increasing climate finance remains a pressing issue. Argentina’s decision to stay in the Paris agreement after briefly contemplating withdrawal underscores the complexities and challenges faced by countries in addressing climate change.
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