The COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, concluded with a landmark $300 billion annual finance deal to support emissions reduction and climate adaptation in developing nations by 2035. While hailed as a step forward, the deal faced criticism from developing countries as insufficient to address the scale of the climate crisis.
The tense negotiations, which nearly collapsed at several points, also saw new agreements on carbon credit markets and procedural reforms, emphasizing the conference’s role as the ‘finance COP’.
Monaco’s delegation, led by Céline Caron-Dagioni, actively contributed to the negotiations. Representing the Direction de l’Environnement and the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, the team engaged in critical discussions on carbon cooperation mechanisms under the Paris Agreement. A significant exchange took place with Mexican officials Enrique Javier Ochoa Martínez and José Luis Samaniego Leyva, focusing on emissions reduction strategies and opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Monaco expressed its interest in developing carbon offset initiatives with Mexico, aligning with shared climate goals.
Caron-Dagioni also participated in a Francophone women negotiators’ event hosted by the Institut de la Francophonie pour le Développement Durable (IFDD), a long-time partner of Monaco. Additionally, she spoke at a ministerial roundtable on urban planning and climate change, highlighting Monaco’s policies to decarbonise energy consumption in buildings and improve energy efficiency.
The negotiations in Baku were far from smooth. Wealthy nations initially proposed $250 billion annually, a figure dismissed by developing countries as insufficient. Intense back-and-forth negotiations ultimately led to the revised $300 billion agreement, but the demand for $500 billion from the G77+China bloc underscored the gap between expectations and outcomes. The emotional peak of the talks came with a walkout by small island states and least developed countries, who later returned to the table as negotiations stretched late into the night.
COP29 also addressed controversial carbon credit markets, with new rules adopted despite ongoing debates. As negotiations wrapped up, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev urged delegates to stay engaged, stressing that the world’s attention was fixed on the conference.
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Photo source: Government Communications Department