Negotiators at the Cop29 climate summit in Baku have reached a last-minute $300billion (£239billion) deal after island nations threatened to derail talks by staging a mass walkout.
The agreement, finalised in the early hours of Sunday morning, committed wealthy nations to provide at least the multi-billion-pound package to help poorer countries combat climate change.
In response, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This is a critical eleventh hour deal at the eleventh hour for the climate. It is not everything we or others wanted but is a step forward for us all.”
He added: “There is much more work to do if we are to keep 1.5C within reach and prevent climate catastrophe.
Ed Miliband spoke at the UK pavilion closing event at the Cop29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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“We’ve pushed for ambition in Baku and have restored the UK back to a position of global climate leadership.”
The breakthrough came after nearly two weeks of tense negotiations at the Azerbaijan summit, which had been pushed to the brink of collapse when representatives from 39 island nations walked out of crucial talks.
The deal emerged following a series of contentious closed-door meetings that included heated exchanges between major powers including the US, UK, EU and China.
The overnight negotiations reached a critical point during a tense pre-dawn meeting on Saturday, where representatives from major powers engaged in what European diplomats described as “lots of shouting”.
Saudi Arabia faced particular criticism during the heated discussions, which included officials from China, the United States, India, the UK, Brazil and Australia.
Earlier, developing nations had pushed back against initial proposals, demanding $500billion (£400billion) in annual funding during a separate closed-door session.
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The talks, originally scheduled to end on Friday, stretched into their 14th day, with concerns growing that delegates’ departing flights could leave the summit without a quorum.
The summit reached its most dramatic moment when Samoan Environment Minister Cedric Schuster, who was representing 39 island nations, declared: “We feel as though we are left with nothing from this COP.”
The bloc, along with lesser-developed countries, then walked out of the meeting, pushing the conference to the edge of failure.
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra acknowledged the precarious situation, stating: “It is iffy whether we will succeed.”
One European diplomat noted that developing countries were arguing “it is better to have no agreement than a bad one”
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Failure would have pushed climate financing discussions into 2025, after Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House.
One European diplomat noted that developing countries were arguing “it is better to have no agreement than a bad one”.
The final agreement represents a significant increase from earlier climate finance commitments, with US climate envoy John Podesta defending the scale of the offer.
“The need is great,” Podesta said amid a crowd of reporters, while he was heckled by activists.