Monday Briefing: U.N. climate talks End With a Deal

Negotiators at this year’s United Nations climate summit, known as COP29, struck an agreement early yesterday to help developing countries adopt cleaner energy and cope with the effects of climate change. Under the deal, wealthy nations pledged to reach $300 billion per year in support by 2035, up from a current target of $100 billion.

But as soon as the deal was declared done, it was immediately assailed as inadequate by a string of delegates. Independent experts have placed the needs of developing countries at $1.3 trillion per year, much higher than what was promised under the agreement.

Countries are expected to submit updated emissions-reduction pledges in the coming months, before a February deadline. And on the heels of the contentious climate talks, negotiators are descending on Busan, South Korea for another U.N.-led climate effort: the first treaty designed to tackle plastic pollution’s growth.

We spoke to David Gelles, who reported on the summit this week from Baku, Azerbaijan.

What were the main goals of this year’s conference?

Every year diplomats from nearly 200 nations gather to try to agree on plans to combat climate change. This year, during a record spell of extreme heat and severe weather, the main goal was to mobilize as much as $1.3 trillion annually to help developing nations adapt to a warming world and transition away from fossil fuels.

But regardless of the final details of the deal, the major fault lines will remain: Vulnerable nations still need huge amounts of money to cope with global warming, and wealthy nations have been slow to make those funds available.”