Berliner Boersenzeitung - COP29 host tries to calm waters after diplomatic turmoil

EUR -
AED 3.878381
AFN 70.7463
ALL 97.61914
AMD 408.610835
ANG 1.902881
AOA 962.990181
ARS 1056.133675
AUD 1.629831
AWG 1.903279
AZN 1.782367
BAM 1.961169
BBD 2.131736
BDT 126.165379
BGN 1.956257
BHD 0.39792
BIF 3059.500854
BMD 1.055911
BND 1.420876
BOB 7.295109
BRL 6.101267
BSD 1.05579
BTN 89.111243
BWP 14.492536
BYN 3.455159
BYR 20695.847018
BZD 2.128166
CAD 1.481395
CDF 3026.239678
CHF 0.937438
CLF 0.037319
CLP 1029.755569
CNY 7.634553
CNH 7.648657
COP 4732.327162
CRC 539.276272
CUC 1.055911
CUP 27.98163
CVE 110.765732
CZK 25.288741
DJF 187.656729
DKK 7.458477
DOP 63.830097
DZD 141.090833
EGP 52.228289
ERN 15.838658
ETB 128.873835
FJD 2.402218
FKP 0.833448
GBP 0.831266
GEL 2.877311
GGP 0.833448
GHS 16.947137
GIP 0.833448
GMD 74.96988
GNF 9113.563672
GTQ 8.153629
GYD 220.880478
HKD 8.217001
HNL 26.461494
HRK 7.532084
HTG 138.728456
HUF 406.280067
IDR 16819.863322
ILS 3.949333
IMP 0.833448
INR 89.184477
IQD 1383.770792
IRR 44459.114242
ISK 145.704916
JEP 0.833448
JMD 167.13754
JOD 0.74875
JPY 164.483941
KES 136.746848
KGS 91.20586
KHR 4277.493968
KMF 492.577276
KPW 950.319106
KRW 1481.96991
KWD 0.324608
KYD 0.879792
KZT 523.432901
LAK 23171.957081
LBP 94609.586688
LKR 308.454396
LRD 194.389971
LSL 19.270249
LTL 3.117829
LVL 0.63871
LYD 5.142547
MAD 10.51481
MDL 19.124993
MGA 4915.2638
MKD 61.493876
MMK 3429.556317
MNT 3587.984033
MOP 8.463609
MRU 42.104426
MUR 49.828585
MVR 16.313496
MWK 1833.060651
MXN 21.60902
MYR 4.731009
MZN 67.474328
NAD 19.270822
NGN 1773.781857
NIO 38.836002
NOK 11.721563
NPR 142.583725
NZD 1.797172
OMR 0.406548
PAB 1.05581
PEN 4.017209
PGK 4.154744
PHP 62.147202
PKR 293.595921
PLN 4.324907
PYG 8245.572309
QAR 3.844095
RON 4.976081
RSD 116.819612
RUB 104.856145
RWF 1441.317917
SAR 3.96598
SBD 8.852284
SCR 14.358481
SDG 635.128609
SEK 11.567089
SGD 1.418188
SHP 0.833448
SLE 23.948042
SLL 22141.921534
SOS 603.457557
SRD 37.333301
STD 21855.216762
SVC 9.23829
SYP 2653.006815
SZL 19.270107
THB 36.819919
TJS 11.254396
TMT 3.706246
TND 3.328196
TOP 2.473047
TRY 36.246349
TTD 7.168624
TWD 34.401037
TZS 2808.722543
UAH 43.524448
UGX 3874.606762
USD 1.055911
UYU 44.852785
UZS 13542.052761
VES 47.509864
VND 26820.128279
VUV 125.359824
WST 2.94767
XAF 657.745123
XAG 0.034607
XAU 0.00041
XCD 2.853651
XDR 0.79537
XOF 650.970195
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.819195
ZAR 19.211538
ZMK 9504.459219
ZMW 28.954812
ZWL 340.00277
  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • CMSC

    -0.0200

    24.59

    -0.08%

  • RYCEF

    -0.2600

    6.85

    -3.8%

  • SCS

    -0.2200

    13.15

    -1.67%

  • AZN

    0.2200

    65.51

    +0.34%

  • NGG

    0.4100

    62.53

    +0.66%

  • CMSD

    0.0300

    24.76

    +0.12%

  • GSK

    -0.1500

    34.96

    -0.43%

  • VOD

    -0.0400

    8.71

    -0.46%

  • RELX

    -0.0750

    46.045

    -0.16%

  • BCC

    -3.4000

    139.15

    -2.44%

  • RIO

    -0.2950

    60.325

    -0.49%

  • JRI

    -0.0650

    13.175

    -0.49%

  • BTI

    0.0750

    35.495

    +0.21%

  • BCE

    -0.3750

    26.835

    -1.4%

  • BP

    0.4050

    28.975

    +1.4%

COP29 host tries to calm waters after diplomatic turmoil
COP29 host tries to calm waters after diplomatic turmoil / Photo: Alexander NEMENOV - AFP/File

COP29 host tries to calm waters after diplomatic turmoil

Host Azerbaijan tried to bring down the diplomatic temperature in Baku on Thursday after a French minister cancelled her trip to the UN climate talks and Argentina withdrew its delegation.

Text size:

While negotiators work behind closed doors at the COP29 talks to trash out a climate finance deal, the spotlight has been largely stolen by diplomatic turmoil.

France's Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said Wednesday she would not travel to Baku after Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev accused Paris of colonial "crimes" and "human rights violations" in its overseas territories.

Pannier-Runacher called his speech "unacceptable... and beneath the dignity of the presidency of the COP."

It was also a "flagrant violation of the code of conduct" for running United Nations climate talks, she added.

Attempting to calm the waters on Thursday, COP29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev insisted that Azerbaijan had fostered "an inclusive process".

"We have opened our doors to everybody to come to engage in very constructive, fruitful discussions," he told reporters.

"Our doors are still open."

Relations between Paris and Baku have long been tense over France's support for Azerbaijan's arch-rival Armenia.

Azerbaijan defeated Armenia in a lightning offensive last year when it retook the breakaway Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh -- leading to an exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians.

- 'Diplomatic matter' -

Aliyev has hailed the victory in remarks to delegates and also raised eyebrows by insisting natural resources including carbon-emitting fossil fuels were a "gift from God".

The EU's climate commissioner said the climate talks "should be a place where all parties feel at liberty to come and negotiate."

"The COP Presidency has a particular responsibility to enable and enhance that," Wopke Hoekstra posted on X.

Compounding the diplomatic turmoil, Argentina's delegation was abruptly pulled from the talks.

An environment ministry source confirmed the departure but declined to offer more detail.

Argentina's anti-establishment President Javier Milei has made no secret of his scepticism of climate change and is an ally of newly reelected former US president Donald Trump.

While Argentina's delegation was small, its departure "is unprecedented in the country's diplomatic history", said Oscar Soria, an Argentine environmental activist and director of the Common Initiative.

Rafiyev declined to be drawn on the departure, terming it a "diplomatic matter between Argentina and the UN".

"We hope that all who are attending here have only one intention, to come to join us in this collective effort to get an outcome that is positive," he added.

- 'Some uncertainty' -

But progress on the key goal of the talks -- a new climate finance deal -- is proving grindingly slow.

The main fault line is clear: how much should developed countries pay to help poorer nations adapt to climate change and transition away from fossil fuels.

Rich nations are reluctant to spend much more than the $100-billion a year already committed, conscious of domestic publics angry about inflation and stuttering economies.

But developing countries warn they need at least $1 trillion to defend against the ravages of climate change and meet commitments to reach net-zero emissions.

Sources described ongoing discussions as difficult, with negotiators struggling to wrestle a draft text into a reasonable form before ministers arrive in a few days to start nailing down a deal.

"At this pace we won't be able to deliver something meaningful by Saturday as initially requested by the presidency," warned Fernanda de Carvalho, climate policy lead at WWF.

Hanging over proceedings is the question of what role the United States will play on climate action and funding after Trump returns to the White House in January.

He has pledged to again withdraw from the landmark Paris agreement, raising questions about how much US negotiators can really promise and deliver in Baku.

"I think it's fair to say that there's some uncertainty in the next administration," conceded Jake Levine, the White House's senior director for climate and energy.

"We cannot cede the playing field to China, to our competitors... So I think that you will see a continued American presence."

(O.Joost--BBZ)