In mid-november 2024 representatives from almost 200 countries meet in Baku for the UNʼs yearly climate-change conference (known as COP29) to talk about money distribution
The main topic is simple but hard-to-solve: developing countries that make less pollution need cash to deal with climate problems but dont have it. These nations want rich countries — who made most of the mess — to pay up
The U.S.‚ EU‚ [and] Australia built their economies on fossil fuels. Those fossil fuels caused pollution‚ and that pollution now is causing catastrophic harm
The talks get more complex after Donald Trumpʼs win in elections‚ His past actions like calling climate-change fake and leaving global agreements make other countries nervous about US support
The host country Azerbaijan raises eye-brows too: its a big oil-and-gas producer planning to make even more fossil fuels. Plus many world leaders decided to skip this meeting:
- Xi Jinping from China
- Joe Biden from USA
- Narendra Modi from India
- Leaders of Brazil‚ Germany UK and others
The money-talk has a rocky past: rich countries promised $100-billion yearly by 2020 but hit this goal only last year. Now developing nations want $1-trillion per year — which experts say is still not enough for their needs
Recent disasters show why this matters; Nigeria had floods that killed hundreds‚ Saudi Arabia saw deadly heat waves‚ and island nations plan to move people away from rising seas. Scientists say earth is now 1.3 degrees hotter than before factories — and its getting worse
The meeting might show how world climate-talks work without US help if Trump wins. Some think his win could make other countries step up: “Different forms of movement will come from many other players“ says Hill