Cop29 climate talks open in Azerbaijan with call for cooperation after Trump win

The Cop29 climate talks opened on Monday in Azerbaijan with a call to show global cooperation was not “down for the count”, as Donald Trump’s re-election hangs over the key discussions.

Countries come to Baku after new warnings that 2024 is on track to break temperature records, adding urgency to a fractious debate over funding for climate action in poorer countries.

Trump has pledged to once again withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement, and there are concerns the move could weaken ambition around the negotiating table.

As the talks opened, UN climate chief Simon Stiell told countries: “Now is the time to show that global cooperation is not down for the count”.

And he warned wealthy countries who are struggling to agree a new funding target to “dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity”.