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The United Nations’ Cop29 climate summit kicked off Monday amid stark warnings about the deteriorating state of the planet and an undercurrent of anxiety about Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Thousands of diplomats, scientists and leaders have arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, to negotiate the thorniest subject in climate negotiations: the money needed to tackle the climate crisis.

Amid an already herculean task of raising more than $1 trillion in funding to help developing countries prepare for and mitigate the climate crisis, concern over the U.S. election was pervasive at the summit .

Hours after the opening ceremony, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report saying that, contrary to what many others had warned, this year will be the hottest on record last year.

This is hardly surprising given that 2024 has seen some of the biggest disasters on record, from the unprecedented scale of wildfires to devastating floods in Asia and Europe.

But the dramatically degraded state of the planet was overshadowed by fears of a second Donald Trump presidency in the United States, which took center stage in every debate.

Trump’s fears weigh heavily on Cop29

Mr Trump’s campaign team has indicated that the president-elect will withdraw the United States – the world’s second largest polluter – from the historic Paris agreement, something he also did during his last term .

Concerns were raised at the summit about the meaning of any US commitment announced here in Baku, at a time when the next administration is very likely to walk away from that commitment.

Dean Bhekumuzi Bhebhe of Power Shift Africa said the summit is the “test for rich countries” to see how serious they really are about tackling the climate crisis.

“At Cop29, Africa needs leaders who recognize climate finance not as charity, but as a responsibility rooted in historical responsibility,” he said, adding that any rollback of US under Mr Trump could have ‘devastating’ ripple effect for Africa.

US envoy John Podesta tried to reassure the summit: “This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet.

“Facts remain facts. Science remains science. The struggle is bigger than an election, than a political cycle in a country. »

The climate envoy, who served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, said he was aware the United States had “disappointed” the world.

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“I am acutely aware of the disappointment that the United States has sometimes caused among climate regime parties who have experienced a pattern of strong, committed and effective American leadership, followed by a sudden disengagement after a US presidential election.

“And I know that this disappointment is all the more difficult to tolerate as the dangers we face become more and more catastrophic. But that’s the reality.

Others also pointed out that the show must go on. Some said U.N. processes do not depend on country elections and urged other leaders “not to hide behind American inaction.”

“Climate diplomacy on a planet in turmoil doesn’t stop with climate deniers,” said Ben Goloff, campaign manager at the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“Before Trump takes office, Biden officials must use the next two months to build a defensive wall and secure their climate legacy. »

Activists continued to remind politicians that increasing funding for climate action is essential. Developing countries need around $1 billion a day just to cope with today’s extreme weather impacts, with just 1.3°C of global warming, a study suggests. Report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published Thursday.

“We cannot avoid planetary collapse by spending less on climate finance than on ice cream.” » Teresa Anderson, head of global climate justice at ActionAid, said. “If we are serious about climate action, we must pay for climate action. »

Experts acknowledge, however, that there is a climate leadership void that other countries will need to fill. There are already high expectations from the UK with Keir Starmer expected to attend the leaders’ summit and announce revised climate targets.

Activists are also looking to China to fill the void.

“It is in China’s interest to act,” said Greenpeace China representative Yuan Ying. “I see China and others filling the climate leadership gap. »

A reduced summit in Azerbaijan

The summit venue, set up at Baku Stadium, is significantly scaled down compared to Dubai’s sprawling Expo City center last year, both in terms of attendance and size.

For many participants, a smaller, more navigable site was welcome.

“It is not about the size of the conference or the number of participants but the agenda determined by the negotiations,” said Carolina Pasquali of Greenpeace Brazil. The Independent.

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“Last year there was a lot of greenwashing and corporate presence,” she said. “They made it a fair of false solutions.”

What may not be as welcome is the reduced number of heads of state present this time around.

When the high-level leaders’ summit begins on Tuesday, only 92 leaders will be present at the summit where more than 200 countries are negotiating a climate deal.

The missing faces mostly come from rich countries; Mr. Biden and Kamala Harris are not present, the German and French leaders are busy with their domestic affairs. Canada, Brazil, South Africa and India are all missing.

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This makes for a very lackluster leaders’ summit at a conference whose key outcome was to be judged by how much money major nations agreed to put on the table to tackle the climate crisis. However, small island nations and African countries, both on the front lines of the climate crisis, sent delegations.

Part of the discussions on the ground also concerns Azerbaijan’s role as a petro-state. Just before the summit began, a BBC report said Elnur Soltanov, Cop29 director general and Azerbaijani deputy energy minister, was allegedly overheard discussing “investment opportunities” in the oil company and Azerbaijani public gas company with an individual posing as a potential. investor, and seemed willing to hold discussions on such agreements on the sidelines of the Cop itself.

“This is not our first (summit) with a presidency focused on fossil fuels…” said Ms. Pasquali. Last year, leaked documents revealed that the team from Cop28 host country the United Arab Emirates planned to discuss oil and gas deals with more than a dozen visiting countries.

“All countries have a responsibility to step up their efforts and show some leadership. This is the agenda of our generation, and year by year the situation gets worse and we are running out of time,” she said.