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Letters

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification
With the annual global climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan ending on November 22, time is running out for delegates to agree on a new climate finance target for global action. The target will determine the level of support wealthy nations are expected to provide to countries that need help to achieve their climate goals.
Thus far, a global carbon market framework received the green light on the first day of the summit. This will drive climate action by increasing carbon credit demand. Putting it under UN oversight will hopefully ensure the integrity of the international carbon market.
At Cop29, which some are calling the “Finance COP”, the biggest hurdle is finding consensus on new annual climate financing to support vulnerable countries in building climate resilience. There are calls for much higher levels of funding, raising the figure from the original US$100 billion a year – a target agreed on in 2009 – to as much as US$1.3 trillion a year.
But getting wealthy nations to open their purse strings has proven difficult – the commitment of US$100 billion a year by 2020 made by developed countries was met just once, in 2022. Some researchers have called for redirecting profits from fossil fuel companies towards climate action.
Further complicating matters is Donald Trump’s re-election as US president. The loss of leadership from the largest historical greenhouse gas producer could throw global negotiations into limbo once more.
In an open letter published last week, more than 20 former leaders and climate experts – including former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon – have warned that the conference policy framework is no longer fit for purpose and cannot deliver change at the rate needed to tackle climate warming.
Cop29 is taking place amid warming slated to make 2024 the warmest year on record and also the first year to breach global temperature increases of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level. Even at current levels, climate change is destroying the livelihoods of millions and causing losses of hundreds of billions of dollars through sea level rise, extreme weather and more.
Whether the delegates can reach a consensus and secure a strong climate finance deal by the end of this climate summit will be a true test of their skills or a sign that the climate conference is in dire need of reform.
Wendell Chan, senior officer, policy research and advocacy, Friends of the Earth (HK)
No country can afford to stand on the sidelines
I refer to the letter, “Conflict of interest should have ruled out Azerbaijan as Cop29 host” (November 16).
Critics have noted that Baku, Azerbaijan is an odd place to hold the important annual global climate talks, given the nation’s dependency on trading fossil fuels. Perhaps it is no stranger than the last summit held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place arguably founded on petrodollars. But such criticism is missing the point.
One of the key topics in discussion at this year’s talks is how to secure the funds needed to tackle climate change. The old target of US$100 billion a year is woefully inadequate if we are to have any hope of limiting temperature increases to within 1.5 degrees Celsius and supporting measures in at-risk countries to mitigate and adapt to the ravages of severe weather changes.
This grim reality underscores the need to consider a mix of private and public finance, as well as figure out how developed countries should provide funds to developing countries, whether it be in the form of loans or grants.
Currently, the world’s greenhouse gas emissions stand at 53 billion tonnes. Bringing this down will require a comprehensive effort from all nations and not just the main emitters like China, the United States and India. The whole world must accept the notion that their fate rests in their hands.
Developed nations must support developing nations with the tools and mechanisms available to unlock capital and transfer technology. Industry must take responsibility, discard “business as usual” models and rise to meet the climate challenge.
In the end, it may not seem so odd for Azerbaijan and the UAE to be part of this process as we are all stakeholders in the quest to remove the global perils and threats of climate change.
Thomas Tang, Mid-Levels


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Why a Chinese farmer’s reunion with a US teacher moved me to tears

Climate change

Can the UN climate framework rise to the occasion?

World leaders pose for a photo at the UN climate change conference (Cop29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 12. Photo: Reuters 

UN urged to ban Cop climate talks in pro-fossil fuel countries

World leaders and other top officials pose for a group photo at the Cop29 UN Climate Summit. Photo: AP

Cop29 host city Baku. Photo: Reuters

Environmental activists protest against oil and gas lobbyists in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: Reuters

Southeast Asia’s energy transition hangs in balance at Cop29 amid uncertainty over Trump return

The flooded Red River in Hanoi in September, in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi hitting northern Vietnam. Photo: AFP

World leaders pose for a family photo at the UN Climate Change Conference Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Residents transport their motorbike through a flooded street in Chiang Mai. Super Typhoon Yagi disrupted the lives of more than 20 million people in Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. Photo: AFP

Cop29: Can China fill the climate void left by Trump’s return to ‘Drill, baby, drill’?

A woman walks past a logo of Cop29 in Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaijan. Photo: DPA

An oil refinery is silhouetted against the setting sun on September 28, 2024, in McPherson, Kansas. Photo: AP

World’s most polluting cities revealed at Cop29 as frustration grows at fossil fuels

A man rides a bicycle near a power station in Shanghai. File photo: AFP

People wearing face masks walk on a Shanghai street following a sandstorm. File photo: Reuters

The sun sets behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin, described as the worst polluting site in the world. File photo: Reuters 

Tokyo is also a big polluter, according to data revealed at Cop29. Photo: AFP

Opinion

Readers discuss the stakes of reaching a climate finance deal at Cop29 and the need for a global effort against greenhouse gas emissions


Readers discuss the stakes of reaching a climate finance deal at Cop29 and the need for a global effort against greenhouse gas emissions.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss the stakes of reaching a climate finance deal at Cop29 and the need for a global effort against greenhouse gas emissions

Readers discuss the stakes of reaching a climate finance deal at Cop29 and the need for a global effort against greenhouse gas emissions