With thousands of world leaders, negotiators, climate experts and activists gathered for the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, the conference achieved a breakthrough on the first day with members approving rules for a global carbon market framework.
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00:00World leaders, negotiators and climate experts fill a hall in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku,
00:07as the UN's annual climate summit, COP29, gets underway.
00:14Looking to tackle the escalating climate crisis, some progress was made on the first day.
00:20Attendees backing a carbon credit system proposal that would see countries and companies pay
00:24for emission-reducing projects in return for credits to offset their own.
00:30The deal has been years in the making, part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which seeks to
00:35keep global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
00:41An important step, as the summit's president warns the world is on the road to ruins.
00:46Climate change is already here.
00:50From flooded homes in Spain to forest fires in Australia.
00:56From rising oceans in the Pacific to barren plains in East Africa.
01:01Whether you see them or not, people are suffering in the shadows.
01:06They are dying in the dark.
01:08And they need more than compassion, more than prayers and paperwork.
01:14Azerbaijan's COP29 summit aims to chart what its leader calls a new path forward.
01:21The main goal of this year's meeting is increasing funding to curb the rise in global
01:25temperatures and support lower-income countries to reduce greenhouse gases.
01:31It's a goal being met with scepticism by climate activists, who question the choice of Azerbaijan
01:36as host given its poor climate record.
01:40Despite this, attendees hope to secure a deal for up to US$1 trillion in annual climate
01:45funding for developing countries, a major hike from the current $100 billion pact.
01:51For those nations, this goal represents survival, facing severe climate disasters including
01:57floods, landslides and bushfires that have increased by 700 per cent in the past decade.
02:02They're always saying, you know, the potential risk of climate change, like we haven't
02:07been facing it as small islands for the last 30 years.
02:10So it's about looking at, it's right here, it's right now, it's no longer a latent emergency.
02:19The conference has been clouded by the US election.
02:22With many countries concerned Donald Trump's presidency victory could hinder climate progress.
02:28The president-elect has promised to roll back climate measures, walk out of the landmark
02:33Paris Agreement for a second time and increase fossil fuel production in the US, the world's
02:38largest historic greenhouse gas emitter.
02:41In January, we're going to inaugurate a president whose relationship to climate change is captured
02:47by the words hoax and fossil fuels.
02:51He's vowed to dismantle our environmental safeguards and once again withdraw the United
02:55States from the Paris Agreement.
02:58That is what he has said and we should believe him.
03:00Despite Trump's threats, the US Climate Envoy pledged to continue climate work in the country.
03:07Over the next two weeks, leaders at the summit will continue to discuss ways to meet the
03:11Paris Agreement.
03:12But with this COP marking the last major talks before countries submit updated emission targets
03:17in 2025, and the world far off from the Paris Agreement's goals, the pressure is increasing.
03:24Dolphine Chen and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.
03:30For more UN videos visit www.un.org