COP29 negotiators seek climate finance deal as deadline looms

Vulnerable nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to deal with damage from climate change and to adapt to that change.

With time running down, negotiators at the United Nations’ annual climate talks have returned to the puzzle of finding an agreement to bring far more money for developing countries to adapt than wealthier countries have shown they are willing to pay.

Vulnerable nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to deal with damage from climate change and to adapt to that change, including building out their own clean-energy systems. Experts agree that at least $1 trillion is called for, but both figures are far more than the developed world has so far offered.

With two days left to break the impasse at the UN talks in Azerbaijan, rich nations have still not revealed how much they are ready to provide the developing world to fight climate change.

“We need a figure,” said Adonia Ayebare, chair of the G77+China group of developing nations.

“Then the rest will follow. But we need a headline,” the Ugandan negotiator told reporters on Wednesday.