Al Gore slams fossil fuel industry in fiery COP29 speech

Former US Vice President Al Gore slammed the fossil fuel industry in a fiery speech at the COP29 summit in Baku, claiming that officials in the sector are "way better at capturing politicians than emissions."

Mr Gore, a US climate activist, urged delegates to come to solutions rather than bow to political and industrial pressure.

"We just have to decide how long the world is going to cower in front of the financial and political power of the fossil fuel industry. If we can find it within ourselves, in every country, to come together and make intelligent choices, we can solve this."

This year's UN climate summit is struggling to focus minds on the health of the planet, with turbulent geopolitics, a confrontational host and the reelection of US climate skeptic Donald Trump stealing the limelight.

The annual conference that aims to produce global agreements to limit the warming which is tipping the world towards climate catastrophe is becoming a forum of frustration for negotiators seeking a finance deal in the Caspian Sea city of Baku.

"The UN climate and environmental negotiations are increasingly becoming a tragic spectacle," said Juan Carlos Monterrey, Special Representative for Climate of the Ministry of Environment of Panama.

Oil producer Azerbaijan, the host of this year's 29th Conference of the Parties, is tasked with the limited goal of rallying countries around a target for annual financial aid for developing nations facing the rising costs of climate change.

Read more: Explainer: A guide to COP29 climate jargon

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev berated the United States and the European Union as climate hypocrites at the summit's opening, souring the mood for countries central to the finance goal.

Mr Aliyev later branded France guilty of colonial "crimes", after which France's climate minister canceled her trip to the venue.

Midway through the two-week summit, a group of former leaders, climate experts and scientists published an open letter calling for the COP process to be reformed, saying it "cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity."

The COP29 presidency's lead negotiator acknowledged that the multilateral process was under pressure in Baku.

"We consider COP29 as a litmus test for the global climate architecture," Azerbaijan's Yalchin Rafiyev told reporters.

Trump Effect

Former US president Trump's reelection has led some countries to lower their expectations before the COP had convened.

"This COP was hamstrung from the beginning," said Jon Creyts, president of RMI, an energy transition think tank.

Mr Trump has promised to withdraw the US from international climate cooperation, as he did during his 2017-21 term, and has called global warming a hoax.

Mr Gore in his speech played down the impact the US President-elect will have on driving climate policy.

"When (Donald) Trump was president last time the solar and wind expansion and EVs continued anyway because the economics are driving it and because state and provincial and city governments and companies are driving it."

However, AOSIS negotiator Michai Robertson said it would be harder for negotiations to bounce back if Mr Trump quits the Paris Agreement again.

"We're in a different geopolitical context than we were the first time that they left. A lot of other countries are leaning right. There's ... less sort of camaraderie amongst the international community to get things done," Mr Robertson said.

In another blow, Argentina, whose President Javier Milei has also called global warming a hoax and was set to meet Mr Trump this week, recalled its delegation yesterday in order to "reevaluate the situation."