Trump's return motivating some countries at UN climate summit
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President-elect Trump's shadow looms large at the UN global climate summit that began Monday — but his second term seems to be more motivating than dispiriting for some countries.
Why it matters: Trump's reelection raises the stakes for the gathering, known as COP29, at which leaders must come up with funding that would help developing countries adapt to climate impacts and shift their economies to cleaner energy.
- The U.K., under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, unveiled its new plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% below 1990 levels through 2035, which goes further than its previous commitment.
Diplomats and world leaders face another period in which the U.S. pulls back from the UN climate talks, as occurred during his first term.
Zoom in: On day one of the talks, negotiators gaveled through an agreement on how carbon markets would function, allowing money to flow between companies and countries investing in carbon offsets.
- Civil society groups have panned this idea. They view the offsets, which could include carbon removal projects, as rife with "greenwashing" opportunities.
State of play: Today begins the world leaders' portion of the summit.
- With many key heads of state missing — including President Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, other countries are pushing for aggressive climate finance targets and offering new plans to cut their own emissions.
- The U.K. offered a new emissions target but isn't expected to announce stepped-up publicly financed climate assistance, the Financial Times reports.
- Instead, Starmer may call for more private sector finance to help ratchet up climate finance commitments.
What they're saying: "The U.K. has joined the vanguard of countries stepping forward early with their ambitious climate plan," said Alex Scott, a senior advisor in climate diplomacy at the Italian climate think tank ECCO, in a statement.
- "This emissions reduction target, backed by science, is a significant response from one of history's biggest contributors to the climate crisis," she said.
Between the lines: While there are many kinds of climate finance that are to be discussed in Baku, the top-line number that most countries — particularly developing nations — are seeking comes in the form of public financing.
- There are calls for as much as $1 trillion in overall climate finance, though that may be out of reach at COP29.
- In a speech in Baku early Tuesday morning, UN Secretary-General António Guterres characterized climate finance as investments in a more resilient society.
- "On climate finance, the world must pay up, or humanity will pay the price," he stated. "Climate finance is not charity, it's an investment.
Yes, but: A figure in the mid-hundreds of billions may be realistic given the various geopolitical headwinds facing the summit.
- Those headwinds include the U.S. election but also the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, plus many countries' struggle to contain inflation.
The intrigue: U.S. top climate diplomat John Podesta made clear in a press conference Monday that the Biden administration would continue to push its climate policies forward through the end of its term.
- He also portrayed emissions reductions secured under the Biden climate law as durable against Trump's stated goal of paring back or repealing that sprawling legislation.
- "The economics of the clean energy transition have simply taken over," Podesta said. "New power generation is going to be clean."
What we're watching: How negotiations progress given the thorny topic of money, and if there are any other countries that come forward with emissions pledges for the post-2030 period.
