Money talks: Rich nations make surprising climate promise at Baku summit
Global climate summit in Baku ends with wealthy countries promising to boost their climate aid to $300 billion yearly. Developing nations express mixed feelings about the deal that falls short of their hopes
At the just-ended UN climate summit in Baku rich nations made a ground-breaking decision to up their climate support (though it wasnt exactly what poor countries wanted)
The meetings high-point came when well-off countries promised to give $300-billion per year by 2035 — way more than their old $100-billion yearly promise. Still this number is nowhere close to the mega-sum of $1.3-trillion that developing nations say they need
I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome but the agreement provides a base to build
The deal got some hard-hitting feedback from developing nations. Chandni Raina from India called it an “optical illusion“ while Mukhtar Babayev faced harsh words from Nigerian reps who thought the whole thing was a joke
The talks got extra-complicated because of two big issues:
* Whether countries like China should also give money
* How the US position looked shaky due to possible Trump comeback in 24
China (now worlds #2 carbon maker) keeps saying it dont have to pay like rich countries do. But it already gives about $4-billion yearly to poor nations — doing it its own way outside UN rules
The worlds temp is now 1.3° higher than old times and might hit +3.1° by 2100 if nothing changes. Michael Wilkins from Imperial College London thinks this meeting helped show how rich nations must help poor ones fight climate change — which he says will help everyone on Earth
