BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) 鈥� Countries of the world took turns rejecting a new but vague draft text released early Thursday which attempts to form the spine of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change.
The draft left out a crucial sticking point: how much wealthy nations will pay poor countries. A key option for the lowest amount donors are willing to pay was just a placeholder 鈥淴.鈥� Part of that is because rich nations have yet to make an offer in negotiations.
So the host Azerbaijan presidency managed to unite a fractured world on climate change, but only in their distaste for the plan. Negotiators at the talks 鈥� known as COP29 鈥� in Baku are trying to close the gap between the $1.3 trillion the developing world says is needed in climate finance and the few hundred billion that negotiators say richer nations have been prepared to give.
No figure for climate cash leaves many disappointed
Independent experts say that at least $1 trillion is needed in finance to help transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels and toward clean energy like solar and wind, better adapt to the effects of climate change and pay for losses and damages caused by extreme weather.
Colombia's environment minister Susana Mohamed said without a figure offered by developed nations, 鈥渨e are negotiating on nothing.鈥�
Panama's Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said the 鈥渓ack of commitment transparency feels like a slap in the face to the most vulnerable."
"It is just utter disrespect to those countries that are bearing the brunt of this crisis,鈥� he said. 鈥淒eveloped countries must stop playing games with our life and put a serious quantified financial proposal on the table.鈥�
Gomez listed places where negotiators worked on the issue: South Africa, Germany, the Philippines, Egypt, Austria, Switzerland, Dubai, Colombia and a few times here in Baku, asking 鈥淔or God鈥檚 sakes, what鈥檚 the next stop? Mars? Do we need to go to outer space to get a quantitative number from our developed countries to be able to start negotiating here?鈥�
Esa Ainuu, from the small Pacific island of Niue also blasted the lack of a number in the draft deal.
鈥淔or us in the Pacific, this is critical for us,鈥� Ainuu said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 escape to the desert. We can鈥檛 escape somewhere else. This is reality for us. If finance is not bringing any positive, (then) why鈥檙e we coming to COP?鈥�
Mohamed Adow, director of the think tank Power Shift Africa, also expressed disappointment at the lack of a figure. 鈥淲e need a cheque but all we have right now is a blank piece of paper,鈥� he said.
Iskander Erzini Vernoit, director of Moroccan climate think-tank Imal Initiative for Climate and Development, said he was 鈥渁t a loss for words at how disappointed we are at this stage to have come this far without serious numbers on the table and serious engagement from the developed countries.鈥�
Even United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you can go on and on and on without clarifying the key aspects of the negotiation.鈥�
Negotiators slam an 鈥榰nbalanced鈥� draft
Lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev emphasized how balanced the plan was, but all sides kept saying it was anything but balanced and pointed time was running out.
鈥淲e would like to correct the balance. It is completely tilted,鈥� Pakistan delegate Romina Khurshid Alam said.
The European Union鈥檚 climate envoy Wopke Hoekstra called the draft 鈥渋mbalanced, unworkable, and not acceptable.鈥�
And Xia Yingxian, a member of China delegation, also said the current draft text contains many 鈥渦nsatisfied and unacceptable鈥� parts.
In a statement, the COP29 Presidency stressed that the drafts 鈥渁re not final.鈥�
鈥淭he COP29 Presidency鈥檚 door is always open, and we welcome any bridging proposals that the parties wish to present,鈥� the Presidency said in a statement. It added that possible numbers for a finance goal will be in the next draft on Friday.
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev convened the Qurultay 鈥� a traditional Azerbaijani meeting 鈥� where negotiators spoke to hear all sides and hammer out a compromise. He said that 鈥渁fter hearing all views, we will outline a way forward regarding future iterations.鈥�
Nations big and small want more on slashing fossil fuels
Other areas that are being negotiated include commitments to slash planet-warming fossil fuels and how to adapt to climate change. But they鈥檝e seen little movement.
European nations and the United States criticized the package of proposals for not being strong enough in reiterating last year鈥檚 call for a transition away from fossil fuels.
鈥淭he current text offers no progress鈥� on efforts to cut the world鈥檚 emissions of heat-trapping gases, said Germany delegation chief Jennifer Morgan. 鈥淭his cannot and must not be our response to the suffering of millions of people around the world. We must do better.鈥�
U.S. climate envoy John Podesta said he was surprised that 鈥渢here is nothing that carries forward the ... outcomes that we agreed on last year in Dubai.鈥� The United States, the world鈥檚 biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gases, has played little role in the talks as it braces for another presidency under Donald Trump.
But members of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance such as Colombia, Ireland and Denmark, who are pushing for an end of fossil fuels, said the lack of wording on transitioning away from fossil fuels is not a deal killer for them.
Days earlier, the 20 largest economies met in Brazil and didn't mention the call for transitioning away from fossil fuels. Guterres, who was at that meeting, said official language is one thing, but reality is another.
鈥淭here will be no way鈥� the world can limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius "if there is not a phase out of fossil fuels,鈥� Guterres said at a Thursday news conference.
Also on Thursday, the EU, Mexico, Norway and several other countries announced they would release plans to rapidly cut emissions over the next decade to meet the landmark Paris agreement鈥檚 goal of restraining global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, although they did not detail how those cuts would happen.
Under the agreement, countries need to detail their voluntary plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by early next year.
鈥淭here is a real risk of falling short,鈥� said Tore Sandvik, Norway鈥檚 minister of climate and environment. 鈥淲e must reinforce the message that the Paris agreement is functioning as intended.鈥�
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Associated Press journalists Ahmed Hatem and Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.
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Seth Borenstein, Sibi Arasu, Michael Phillis And Melina Walling, The Associated Press
