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Cop29

Cop29
Latest news and updates on the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop29), which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, between November 11 and 22, 2024.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Climate change

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

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Climate change

Opinion | China’s quiet climate leadership offers hope for Global South and world

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Climate change

Opinion | How Cop30 can advance a new template for South-South climate leadership

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Asean

Opinion | Through Brics, Indonesia offers its vision of inclusivity to the world

Indonesia’s bridge-building approach shows power lies not only in weapons or markets, but also in fostering understanding and collaboration.

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto attends a plenary session of the Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7. The Indonesian leader brings an approach rooted in soft power, bridge-building and inclusive diplomacy. Photo: AFP
Climate change

Opinion | Asia can’t afford to wait for the US to wake up to its climate duty

As the US walks away again, Europe, China and others need to fill the climate reparation funding gap, not out of charity but responsibility.

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Climate change

Opinion | Asia is ground zero for the impact of global glacier loss

Other mountain ranges are losing their glaciers faster but Asia’s critically dependent economy and people put it on the front line.

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Climate change

Opinion | How China is quietly becoming the world’s climate champion

As Chinese officials play a larger part in global climate negotiations, Beijing’s decarbonisation agenda could cement its leadership role.

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Workers produce solar photovoltaic modules at a factory in Weining, Guizhou province, on July 19, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
Climate change

Opinion | How China is quietly becoming the world’s climate champion

As Chinese officials play a larger part in global climate negotiations, Beijing’s decarbonisation agenda could cement its leadership role.

Climate change

Opinion | Southeast Asia’s energy transition is lacking both finance and policy

The bulk of funds needed will have to come from private finance, which requires a conducive environment that regulatory policy can create.

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Climate change

Opinion | Did Cop29 make any meaningful progress on climate change?

Market reforms are needed to motivate investors to deliver more affordable capital and to level the playing field between fossil fuels and renewables.

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An attendee reacts during a closing plenary session at the COP29 UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 24. Photo: AP
Climate change

Opinion | Will China seize the chance to become a world leader on climate?

Despite growing scrutiny of its international climate finance contributions, Beijing’s domestic policies could help set standards in the Global South.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping visits a section of the Yellow River to learn about ecological conservation measures in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on September 11. Photo: Xinhua
Environment

‘Existential challenge’: South Korea hosts final round of global plastic treaty talks

Delegates from 175 countries gather in Busan for the fifth round of talks aimed at securing an international treaty to curb plastic pollution.

Climate change

Cop29 ends with US$300 billion deal, saving talks from brink of collapse

But the agreed funding still falls far short of the trillions poor and vulnerable nations say they need to climate-proof their economies.

Climate change

Macroscope | Are governments finally getting serious about climate finance?

The world still lacks an institution with the authority to enforce financial commitments, but policymakers are at least starting to realise the size of the problem.

Motorists drive by the logo for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop29), painted on a road in Baku, Azerbaijan, on September 16. Photo: AP
Tourism

Croatia the latest tourist-trap nation to mull short-term rental controls

With rents rising and a housing shortage, Croatia is taking steps to tax short-term holiday lets. Meanwhile, sustainable tourism gets a push.

Tourists throng the Old Town of Dubrovnik, in southern Croatia. The nation is facing rising rents driven by holiday lets to visitors that create a housing shortage. Photo: Getty Images
Climate change

Cop29 talks drag as poor nations reject US$250 billion offer from rich ones

A group of 134 developing states, including China, had demanded at least US$500 billion to help build resilience against climate change.

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Business of climate change

One Earth Alliance names council members, advisers to drive green initiatives

Hong Kong-based alliance names six to governing council and 21 advisers at the conclusion of the United Nations’ Cop29 climate summit.

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Climate change

Letters | Can the UN’s climate framework rise to the occasion?

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

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

Opinion | Cop29 can work with the Belt and Road Initiative for a greener future

Aligning climate action with major economic initiatives is essential to cutting emissions while promoting sustainable development.

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G20

G20 ends with call for urgent action on climate, global health, women’s rights

‘We only scratched the surface of the deep challenges the world has to face,’ Brazilian host says as gathering of world leaders concludes.

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Climate change

Opinion | US must be consistent to reclaim climate leadership role from China

As China emerges as a climate leader, the US can still be a reliable partner by staying in global agreements and making progress at home.

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The sun sets on a windmill farm in McCook, Texas, on July 20, 2022. Photo: AP
US-China relations

My Take | Is China ready to lead the way on fighting climate change after Trump’s return?

Beijing is under pressure to fill the leadership vacuum, but the world’s largest carbon emitter is resisting calls to provide more funding.

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China now produces more emissions that the US and EU combined. Photo: Getty Images
Food and agriculture

Future-proofing rice: how Asia’s farmers are innovating against climate odds

From India to Vietnam, a new wave of innovation is transforming traditional rice farming into a resilient and eco-friendly industry.

Climate change

Opinion | On climate finance, China is only guilty of being too modest

While China must do better in making clear its climate leadership, the rest of the world should stop looking for scapegoats and start paying up.

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Climate change

Letters | Conflict of interest should have ruled out Azerbaijan as Cop29 host

Readers discuss protecting the legitimacy of the COP climate talks, how a hit film is tapping Hong Kong’s rich traditions and the sales of phone subscriptions to foreign domestic workers.

A driver uses his mobile phone at the electric charging station as Baku city hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop29), in Azerbaijan, on November 14. Photo: Reuters
Shanghai

Shanghai is world’s most polluting city, says new data revealed at Cop29

While the Chinese city was found to be worse than all of Colombia or Norway, a site in Texas ‘is the worst polluting site in the entire world’.

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

Outside In | ‘Trump-proofing’ is distracting the world from far graver challenges

From G20 and Apec to the WTO and Nato, global cooperation on climate, security and open trade and investment must be quickly restored.

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Climate change

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

Prominent figures make appeal to the United Nations as Azerbaijan, a major oil and gas producer, hosts Cop29.

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