Robinson critical of Azerbaijan as choice for COP host

The Chair of the Elders, Mary Robinson, has said the Vatican, Russia and Saudi Arabia have been blocking progress on a gender-related climate action plan at the COP29 talks in Azerbaijan.

She was also highly critical of the choice of Azerbaijan to host the climate talks, saying an extraordinary number of fossil fuel lobbyist are influencing the discussions and the COP presidency is not stepping up or getting strong in the negotiations.

It is the start of what is supposed to be the second last day at COP29 in Baku.

Mrs Robinson said people are down because progress is still slow.

She said there is dismay that the Vatican, Russia and Saudi Arabia are blocking progress on a Gender Action plan - a key part of the negotiations as discrimination and inequality globally cause women and children to be most affected by climate change.

Mrs Robinson said that if you do not have good leadership in a country that is hosting a COP, then it is not going to make much progress.

That is what is happening in Baku, she said, adding that Azerbaijan was not a great choice for the talks.

She said the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, is on his way back to the talks and she hopes he will be able to encourage the negotiators to deliver the much needed $1.3 trillion finance deal for developing countries.

She referred to the constructive criticisms of the UN COP climate negotiation process and the call for substantial reforms, outlined in an Open Letter published last week by the Group of Rome, of which she is a member.

She said that while UN Elders were not responsible for the timing of that open letter, she stands by the points made it made.

Mrs Robinson said progress on the Gender Action Plan is "almost going backwards, even on human rights, women's rights, intersectionality. It really is very sad."

She underscored the importance of COP29 reaching the climate finance agreement but said the role Saudi Arabia in particular is playing behind the scenes and blocking progress.

She is still hopeful that COP29 will not end in failure, she added.

"I'm aware that there's a lot of work being done, and that Eamon Ryan is playing a leadership role on that," Mrs Robinson said.

"I'm very proud of that, and I think he's working well."

Read more:
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A fresh draft of the climate pact failed to break an impasse over money, with time running for nations to reach the long-sought trillion-dollar finance agreement.

"As for the text overall, I'm not going to sugarcoat it - it is clearly unacceptable as it stands now," said EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra.

"I am sure there's not a single ambitious country that thinks this is nearly good enough".

The nearly 200 countries in Baku are supposed to agree on a new target to replace the $100 billion a year that rich nations pledged for poorer ones to fight climate change.

Many developing countries are pushing for $1.3 trillion, mostly from government coffers, though wealthy nations have balked at such demands and insisted private money helps meet any final goal.

The latest draft recognises that developing countries need a commitment of at least "USD [X] trillion" per year, leaving out the crucial exact figure.

Ali Mohamed, the chair of the African Group of Negotiators, an important negotiating bloc, said the "elephant in the room" was the missing concrete number.

"This is the reason we are here... but we are no closer and we need the developed countries to urgently engage on this matter," said Mr Mohamed, who is also Kenya's climate envoy.

Other key sticking points - including who contributes and how the money is raised and delivered - were left unresolved in the slimmed-down 10-page document.

Many nations have also expressed concern that a pledge to move away from fossil fuels made at last year's COP28 was being neglected in Baku.

Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan insisted negotiations on finance were "advancing" in backroom discussions.

"This text is not the final text, that is clear. It will be quite radically different. But I think there is room for further agreement," he said.

The draft entrenches the broad and opposing positions of developed and developing countries that have largely persisted since COP29 opened over a week ago.

Developed countries want all sources of finance, including public money and private investment, counted toward the goal, and for wealthy countries not obligated to pay, like China, to chip in.

Developing countries want the money to mostly come from rich government budgets in the form of grants or money without strings attached, not loans that add to national debt.

Additional reporting by AFP