G20 summit ends in disappointment for climate negotiators in Baku

The Group of 20 summit T in Brazil's Rio De Janeiro disappointed negotiators at the UN Climate Change Conference Baku-COP29, as it failed to send a strong signal on the pressing need to resolve the climate crisis.

- Puja Das

On Monday, the host of COP29 had pleaded with GZO countries to provide clear mandates to help save talks that had been bogged down in Baku, Azerbaijan. "We urge them to use the G2O meeting to send a positive signal oftheir commitment to address the climate crisis. We want them to provide clear mandates to deliver at COP29," said COP29 president Mukhtar Babyev.

In the event, the GZO lead-ers concluded their summit in Rio with a declaration that only reiterated the need for rapidly scaling up climate finance "from billions to trillions", which they had acknowledged in the 2023 New Delhi meeting in any case. They also promised to accelerate reforms to the international financial architecture to make more money available for fighting climate change.