Cop29: We cannot afford to give up on these crucial climate talks

A good outcome would see an agreement on a substantial finance package to help developing nations mitigate against and adapt to climate impacts

A person in a dinosaur at the Cop29 UN Climate Summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

I write this from Cop29, where I am attending as part of a five-person UCC delegation. As registered “Observers”, our role is to counter disinformation and ensure that discussions are based on the best available science. Over the two weeks of Cop29, we are presenting our research at Cop side-events and contributing to the workshops and meetings.

It is easy to be cynical about this year’s Cop. This is the second year the meeting has been hosted in a petrostate after Dubai (the host country, Azerbaijan, receives 95% of its total export revenue from fossil fuels).