As talks of climate finance to fund transition to clean energy are still on its way in Baku, it seems that the COP29 process is trying to be hijacked by developed countries to evade their obligations and further their own agenda of presenting a façade of combating climate change, and at the same time attempting to sabotage the Presidency’s efforts in fostering collaborative effort towards a greener future.
 

Waiting until the last day of what is called the ‘Finance COP’ to propose a $250 billion contribution from rich countries as opposed to the expected approximate of $1 trillion shows the developed countries’ lack of will to fight climate change and an attempt to end this COP with as little commitment as possible. As developed countries are the biggest contributors to global gas emissions, it is their responsibility to meet goals in climate funding and agree to the ambitious proposal of the COP29 Presidency, about which talks are still underway.
 

The role of the U.S. is crucial in climate funding, as they are by far one of the biggest global gas emitters. However, the Biden administration not only does not seem committed to climate funding, but also lacks the political will to show America’s support throughout this process. It’s clear that their aim is to create more problems for the upcoming Trump administration, and a very saddening situation that their internal dynamics comes at a significant global cost. The administration’s lack of commitment was also evident from Congressman Frank Pallone’s brief and unfruitful visit to Baku, which seemed to be more concerned with fulfilling an obligation to the Armenian lobby in the U.S. as opposed to improving the future of the world. 
 

The EU’s fragmented participation also shows a lack of commitment to fighting climate change and their inability to look at the bigger picture. A smear campaign is well on its way in Western media, in which Azerbaijan is being targeted for an unambitious climate finance deal, whereas it is the responsibility of the developed nations to agree and provide significant climate finance to the Global South. This is just another example of how the West politicizes global issues such as climate change to not commit more finances and sabotage Azerbaijan’s Presidency of COP29, i.e. for their own benefit.
 

UN officials have already commented on Azerbaijan’s flawless hosting of the COP29 process which highlights the country’s commitment to leading talks to reach ambitious goals set out in previous discussions. Myths about Azerbaijan are being shattered and allegations of silencing civil society also proved to be false as representatives from various Western media outlets, as well as NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch participated at COP29 in Baku. Sadly, even though they see the reality in Azerbaijan, they are still committed to conducting smear campaigns and sabotaging the climate finance talks with their baseless allegations, such as calling financial fraudsters as ‘political prisoners’. 
 

Attempts at boycotting the COP29 by certain circles also proved unsuccessful as over 70,000 participants registered, and more than 80 heads of states came to Baku. 
It seems that with the upcoming Trump administration, the COP30 at Brazil may not see any commitment from the U.S. in terms of climate finance, thus, COP29 is the perfect place for developed countries to show their commitment to fighting climate change. It is the responsibility of developed nations, such as EU member states, to increase finance in this direction. 


It is time for developed countries to take responsibility for their actions, not dodge their responsibility to the global south by trying to shift the discourses at COP29 by politicizing climate change talks. They should meet the ambitious climate finance goals set out by the COP29 Presidency in the talks which are still undergoing. 

Fuad Karimli

Representative of the Center for Economic and Social Development