COP29: Why are countries fighting over climate finance?

People arrive for the COP29 UN Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 13, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 13 November 2024
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COP29: Why are countries fighting over climate finance?

  • Trump’s victory in US election has overshadowed COP29 talks over expectations he will halt US climate finance contributions
  • Developing countries say specific amount needed to tackle climate change should be starting point for negotiations 

BAKU: The main task for nearly 200 countries at the UN’s COP29 climate summit is to broker a deal that ensures up to trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects worldwide.
Here is what you need to know about the Nov. 11-22 summit talks on finance.

WHAT IS THE GOAL?

Wealthy countries pledged in 2009 to contribute $100 billion a year to help developing nations cope with the costs of a transition to clean energy and adapting to the conditions of a warming world.
Those payments began in 2020 but were only fully met in 2022. The $100 billion pledge expires this year.
Countries are negotiating a higher target for payments starting next year, but some have been reluctant to confirm its size until it is clear which countries will contribute.
Instead, they are circling around the idea of a multi-layered target, with a core amount from wealthy countries’ government coffers, and a larger sum that includes financing from other sources such as multilateral lending institutions or private investors.
In the past, public money made up the bulk of contributions to the $100 billion goal.

WHO SHOULD CONTRIBUTE?

Donald Trump’s victory in the US election has overshadowed the COP29 talks, because of expectations he will halt US climate finance contributions.
That would leave a hole in any new global target that other donors would struggle to fill. Some climate negotiators also expect the overall target agreed at COP29 to be smaller, given the expected lack of contributions from the world’s biggest economy.
The US provided nearly $10 billion in international climate finance last year, less than the European Union’s $31 billion contribution.
So far, only a few dozen rich countries have been obliged to pay UN climate finance and they want fast-developing nations, such as China and Gulf oil nations to start paying as well.
Beijing opposes this, saying that as a developing country it does not have the same responsibility as long-industrialized nations like Britain and the United States.
While China is already investing hundreds of billions of dollars in electric vehicles and renewable energy abroad, it does so on its own terms.
Any COP29 deal would need consensus approval.

HOW MUCH IS NEEDED?

Developing countries say the specific amount needed to tackle climate change should be the starting point for negotiations to ensure the final target adequately covers their needs.
By most estimates, developing countries need more than $1 trillion, opens new tab per year to meet their climate goals and protect their societies from extreme weather.
Many countries have come to the Baku talks with a number in mind.
Arab countries including Saudi Arabia want a funding target of $1.1 trillion per year, with $441 billion directly from developed country governments in grants.
India, African countries and small island nations have also said more than $1 trillion should be raised per year, but with mixed views on how much should come from wealthy governments.
The rich countries expected to provide the money have not specified a target sum, though the US and the EU have agreed it must be more than the previous $100 billion target.
Some developed country diplomats say that, with national budgets already stretched by other economic pressures, a major increase beyond $100 billion is unrealistic.

WHY IT MATTERS

Climate change has accelerated. Human activities — mainly, burning fossil fuels — have heated up the planet’s long-term average temperature by around 1.3 Celsius, turbocharging disastrous floods, hurricanes and extreme heatwaves.
Countries’ plans for emissions cuts are not enough to slow climate change, and would instead lead to far worse warming.
Next year’s UN deadline for countries to update their national climate plans is a last opportunity to avert disaster, scientists say.
Negotiators have said a failure at COP29 to produce a major funding deal could result in countries offering weak climate plans on the grounds that they cannot afford to implement more ambitious ones.
Most of the world’s climate-friendly spending so far has been skewed toward major economies such as China and the United States. Africa’s 54 countries received just 2 percent of global renewable energy investments over the last two decades.

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South Korea president declares emergency martial law

Updated 03 December 2024
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South Korea president declares emergency martial law

  • The surprise move comes as the ruling and opposition parties continue to bicker over next year’s budget bill
  • Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee

SEOUL: South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared emergency martial law, saying the step was necessary to protect the country from “communist forces” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements... I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.
“With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he added.
The surprise move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to bicker over next year’s budget bill. Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.
“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.
He accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combatting drug crimes and maintaining public security... turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”
Yoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” and called his decision “inevitable.”
“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible.”


South Korean president declares emergency martial law, accusing opposition of anti-state activities

Updated 03 December 2024
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South Korean president declares emergency martial law, accusing opposition of anti-state activities

  • Yoon made the announcement during a televised briefing
  • Yoon has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law,” Tuesday accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government with anti-state activities.
Yoon made the announcement during a televised briefing, vowing to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.” It wasn’t immediately clear how the steps would affect the country’s governance and democracy.
Yoon — whose approval rating has dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party had been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. He has also been dismissing calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.
The Democratic Party reportedly called an emergency meeting of its lawmakers following Yoon’s announcement.


King Charles welcomes Emir of Qatar as state visit begins

Updated 03 December 2024
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King Charles welcomes Emir of Qatar as state visit begins

  • The emir and his wife Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani arrived at Horse Guards Parade
  • Joined by Prince William and Princess of Wales, Catherine

LONDON: King Charles and Keir Starmer welcomed Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for a state visit to Britain on Tuesday.

The emir and his wife Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani arrived by car at Horse Guards Parade in London with Prince William and his wife Catherine, who was marking her return to formal state visit duties after undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.

Charles, who is continuing his own treatment for cancer, and the emir inspected the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards while a military band played.

The reception was to be followed by a trip to Westminster where the emir was set to address both chambers of the British Houses of Parliament.

 


Trump says he’ll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

Updated 03 December 2024
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Trump says he’ll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

  • Trump announced that he will be among them in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening
  • “It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral,” he wrote

NEW YORK: President-elect Donald Trump will attend the reopening celebration for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend, his first foreign trip since the election.
The cathedral is set to reopen Saturday after more than five years of reconstruction following a devastating fire in 2019 that engulfed and nearly destroyed the soaring Paris landmark. The ceremonies being held Saturday and Sunday will be high-security affairs, with about 50 heads of state and government expected to attend.
Trump announced that he will be among them in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening.
“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” he wrote. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”
The trip will be Trump’s first abroad since he won November’s presidential election. He traveled to Scotland and Ireland in May 2023, as a candidate, to visit his local golf courses.
Trump was president in 2019 when a massive fire engulfed Notre Dame, collapsing its spire and threatening to destroy one of the world’s greatest architectural treasures, known for its mesmerizing stained glass.
Trump watched the inferno in horror, along with the rest of the world.
“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” he wrote on what was then named Twitter, offering his advice to the city.
“Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!” he wrote.
French officials appeared to respond shortly after, noting that “All means” were being used to extinguish the flames, “except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.”
Trump also spoke with Macron and Pope Francis at the time to offer his condolences and said he had offered them “the help of our great experts on renovation and construction.”
Trump and Macron have had a complicated relationship.
During Trump’s first term in office, Macron proved to be among the world leaders most adept at managing the American president’s whims as he tried to develop a personal connection built in no small part on flattery.
Macron was the guest of honor at Trump’s first state dinner and Trump traveled to France several times. But the relationship soured as Trump’s term progressed and Macron criticized him for questioning the need for NATO and raising doubts about America’s commitment to the mutual-defense pact.
As he ran for a second term this year, Trump often mocked Macron on the campaign trail, imitating his accent and threatening to impose steep tariffs on wine and champagne bottles shipped to the US if France tried to tax American companies.
After Trump won another term last month, Macron rushed to win favor with the president-elect. He was among the first global leaders to congratulate Trump — even before The Associated Press called the race in his favor — and beat UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the punch in delivering a congratulatory phone call.
“Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump,” Macron posted on X early on Nov 6. “Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”
Macron and other European leaders are trying to persuade Trump not to abandon America’s support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s nearly three-year invasion. European leaders hope to convince Trump that a victory by Russia would be viewed as a defeat for the US — and for the incoming president, by extension — hoping to sell him on the need to pursue an end to the war more favorable to Kyiv than he might otherwise seek.
Trump over the weekend announced that he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.
The reopening of Notre Dame will be an elaborate, multi-day celebration, beginning Saturday.
Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside at a reopening service that afternoon, banging on Notre Dame’s shuttered doors with his staff to reopen them, according to the cathedral’s website.
The archbishop will also symbolically reawaken Notre Dame’s thunderous grand organ. The fire that melted the cathedral’s lead roofing coated the huge instrument in toxic dust. Its 8,000 pipes have been painstakingly disassembled, cleaned and retuned.
Macron will attend and address the VIP guests.
After the service, opera singers Pretty Yende, from South Africa, and Julie Fuchs, from France; Chinese pianist Lang Lang; Paris-born cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo; Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji and others will perform at a concert Saturday evening, according to the show’s broadcaster, France Télévisions.
On Sunday morning, the Paris archbishop will lead an inaugural Mass and consecration of the new altar.
Nearly 170 bishops from France and other countries will join the celebration, along with priests from all 106 parishes in the Paris diocese. The Mass will be followed by a “fraternal buffet” for the needy.
Ile de la Cité, where the cathedral sits in the middle of the River Seine, will be blocked off to tourists for the events. A public viewing area with room for 40,000 spectators will be set up along the Seine’s southern bank.


Police crack encrypted messaging service used by criminals, Europol says

Updated 03 December 2024
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Police crack encrypted messaging service used by criminals, Europol says

  • The messaging service called MATRIX was discovered on the phone of a criminal
  • “The messages that were intercepted are linked to serious crimes,” Europol said

AMSTERDAM: An encrypted messaging service that was used for international drug and arms trafficking has been taken down by European authorities, Europol said on Tuesday.
The messaging service called MATRIX was discovered on the phone of a criminal convicted for the murder of Dutch celebrity crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in 2021, Europol said.
A large-scale investigation by the Dutch and French authorities managed to intercept the messaging service and monitor activity for three months, leading to the deciphering of more than 2.3 million messages in 33 languages.
“The messages that were intercepted are linked to serious crimes such as international drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering,” Europol said.
“Authorities were able to monitor the messages from possible criminals, which will now be used to support other investigations.”
The main servers in France and Germany were taken down, with one suspect arrested in France and two in Spain. Homes were also searched in Lithuania, Europol said.