The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), currently being held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has entered its second week, but there is still a lack of significant progress on issues such as climate financing.
Before COP29, there was a lot of speculation about the results of the US election. If former US President Donald Trump won the election, what kind of atmosphere would the conference be in? As people have seen, the prophecy came true. John Podesta, the US President's Special Envoy for Climate, said at a press conference on the opening day of COP29 that the results of the US election were obviously disappointing for those committed to climate action, but the work to curb climate change will continue and is full of "commitment, passion and belief."
But even so, the possibility of Trump withdrawing from the Paris Agreement again still makes many people doubt the climate action that the United States will undertake in the next four years. "Did you see the US pavilion? It's a bit quiet," a participant at the COP venue told me.
This story was produced as part of the 2024 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. It was first published in Chinese in FT Chinese on November 19, 2024. It has been translated to English and lightly edited for length and clarity.
Banner image: People entering the COP29 venue / Credit: FT Chinese.
Liu Yi
