COP29 summit formally kicks off with key leaders' speech

BAKU: The annual UN climate summit began on Monday with countries readying for tough talks on finance and trade after a year of weather disasters that have emboldened developing countries in their demands for climate cash.

Countries' delegates gathering in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku are hoping to resolve the summit's top agenda item  — a deal for up to $1 trillion in annual climate finance for developing countries.

The summit's negotiating priorities, however, are competing for governments' resources and attention against economic concerns and last week's US re-election of Donald Trump, a climate-change denier, as president of the world's biggest economy.

COP29 host Azerbaijan will be tasked with keeping countries focused on agreeing to a new global finance target to replace the current $100 billion pledge expiring this year.

"Colleagues, we are on a road to ruin. But these are not future problems. Climate change is already here," said COP29 President-elect Mukhtar Babayev.

"Whether you see them or not, people are suffering in the shadows. They are dying in the dark and they need more than compassion, more than prayers and paperwork. They are crying out for leadership and action. COP29 is the unmissable moment to chart a new path forward for everyone," he added.

He further added: "We need much more from all of you. COP29 is a moment of truth for the Paris Agreement. It will test our commitment to the multilateral climate system. We must now demonstrate that we are prepared to meet the goals we have set ourselves."

"I urge you all to prove once again that we can unite, act and deliver. Let me leave you with some final words of advice: Let positivity prevail and let it power the process. Let actions speak louder than words. Let results outlast the rhetoric. And remember, we are what we do, not what we say," said outgoing COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber.