Rich Nations Fail to Deliver on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Poor Countries Reject $300 Billion Pledge

Baku, Azerbaijan - In a dramatic turn of events, nearly 200 nations came together at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, only to reject a highly touted $300 billion per year pledge from wealthy historic polluters as "insultingly low". The deal, which was negotiated after two grueling weeks of chaotic bargaining, commits developed countries to pay at least $100 billion per year, up from an existing pledge of $50 billion.

However, developing nations who had demanded much more were left feeling betrayed and disappointed. A group of 134 developing countries had pushed for a minimum of $500 billion in funding to build resilience against climate change and cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

"This COP has been a disaster for the developing world," said Mohamed Adow, the Kenyan director of Power Shift Africa, a think tank. "It's a betrayal of both people and planet, by wealthy countries who claim to take climate change seriously."

The final deal, which falls short of what was demanded by many developing nations, is set to leave a mountain of work for parties to complete. UN climate chief Simon Stiell acknowledged that the deal was imperfect, saying "No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do."

Wealthy nations argued that it was politically unrealistic to expect more in direct government funding. However, some critics dismissed this as a thinly veiled attempt to avoid taking responsibility for their historical carbon emissions.

The United States, one of the world's largest polluters, and other Western countries were accused of wanting to shift the burden to newly wealthy emerging economies like China, which was seen as a way out of making substantial contributions itself.

China's climate finance contribution remains unchanged under the terms of the deal. The final agreement does commit developed nations to pay at least $300 billion per year by 2035, but this amount falls far short of what many developing countries deemed necessary to address the scale and urgency of the climate crisis.

"Wealthy countries have a responsibility to act on their emissions and provide fair support for vulnerable nations," said Chandni Raina, an Indian delegate who was part of the negotiations. "The amount that is proposed to be mobilised is abysmally poor. It's a paltry sum."