Newly elected leaders to be held to same climate obligations, says Cop29 chief
GuardianMar 27
COP29 Set to Convene Following Trump Reelection
Above: A sign for COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is on display in Baku on November 3, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Image copyright: Aziz Karimov/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Representatives from almost 200 countries are scheduled to gather in Baku, Azerbaijan for COP29 climate talks starting Monday. The conference will focus on finance — specifically the cost of transitioning away from fossil fuels and making regions more resilient to extreme weather.
The conference will begin less than a week after the US reelected former Pres. Donald Trump. The Pres.-elect has formerly labelled climate change a hoax and has made withdrawing the US from the 2015 Paris climate agreement a priority for his next administration.
The Spin
Left narrative
The election of Trump, who has frequently labelled climate change a hoax and plans to roll back many of the agreements underpinning efforts to slow down man-made emissions, is simply a disaster for the environment. Nonetheless, the climate movement has been here before and will continue to push forward with plans to mitigate the risks.
Right narrative
It's simply a con to suggest that all of the world's scientists agree on the complex set of variables causing the world to warm. It is disputed that man-made emissions are the driving cause behind these trends and it's not clear whether recent measures have had any impact other than to curtail the world's economies. Trump's reelection will ring in a new era of common sense when it comes to climate policy.