BAKU – Hundreds of activists formed a human chain outside one of the main plenary halls of the United Nations climate summit, in what is traditionally their biggest day of protest during the two weeks of talks.

The protest in Baku, Azerbaijan, will be echoed at sites across the world as part of a global “day of action” for climate justice that has become an annual event.

Activists waved flags, snapped their fingers and hummed and muttered chants in a silent protest, many covering their mouths with the word “silenced.”

Protesters held signs calling for more money to be pledged for climate finance, which involves cash for the transition to clean energy and adaptation to climate change. It comes as negotiators there attempt to reach an agreement along exactly these lines – but progress has been slow and observers say the direction of a deal is still unclear.

Tired but inspired, activists promise to “keep fighting”

Lidy Nacpil said protesters like her are “not surprised” by how the negotiations are going. But past victories – like a loss and damage fund which gives money to developing countries after extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change – continue organizers, said Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development.

“The role we play is to increase the pressure,” she said of this action. “We know that we will not achieve the results that the world needs in this round of negotiations, but at least getting several steps closer is our hope, our goal.”

She added: “I think we have no choice but to keep fighting… It’s the instinctive response that every living being, every living creature, will have, which is to fight for life and to fight for survival. »

Tasneem Essop said she was inspired by the action, which was difficult to organize. “Being able to make something where people feel their own power and exercise their own power and inspire each other in this creative way, I’m very excited about that,” she said.

Essop says she is “not very” optimistic about the financial results, but she knows that next week will be crucial. “We cannot end up with a bad deal for the people of the world, those already suffering from the impacts of climate change, those who must adapt to a growing and worsening crisis,” she said . “We fight to the end.”

On a climate money deal, there is not much progress

Negotiators at COP29, as these negotiations are called, are working on a deal that could be worthwhile. hundreds of billions of dollars to the poorest nations. Many are in the The global South is already suffering the costly consequences of weather disasters fueled by climate change. Several experts have estimated that at least $1 trillion a year would be needed, both to offset these damages and to finance a transition to clean energy that most countries cannot afford on their own.

“This has been the worst first week of a COP in my 15 years of attending this summit,” said Mohamed Adow of the climate think tank Power Shift Africa. “There is no clarity on the purpose of climate finance, the quality of the financing or how it will be made accessible to vulnerable countries.”

“I feel a lot of frustration, especially among the developing countries here,” he said.

Panama’s Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro agreed, telling the Associated Press that he was “not encouraged” by what he has seen so far at COP29.

“What I see is a lot of talk and very little action,” he said, emphasizing that Panama is part of the group of countries least responsible for warming emissions, but most vulnerable to damage caused by disasters caused by climate change.

“We must face these challenges with a real sense of urgency and sincerity,” he said. “As a planet, we are dragging our feet.”

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Associated Press writer Dorany Pineda in Los Angeles contributed.

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