Day 5: COP29 Faces Heat Over Fossil Fuel Ties, Adaptation Gaps

It’s Day 5 of COP29, and pressure is mounting over the summit’s links to fossil fuel interests and the lack of funding for climate adaptation. Top scientists and former UN chiefs, including Christiana Figueres and Ban Ki-moon, are calling for reform, arguing that countries expanding fossil fuels, like Azerbaijan, should not host future COPs. “We must be realistic about energy transition,” said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, defending fossil fuels at the summit.

Campaigners are also demanding action to reduce the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists. With nearly 1,800 lobbyists at COP29—more than the delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined—Catherine Abreu of the International Climate Politics Hub called it “demoralising” to see close ties to companies like Chevron and BP.

Meanwhile, the Adaptation Fund, which helps countries most impacted by climate change, is facing a major funding crisis. Despite calls for action, only $61 million was pledged, far short of the $300 million needed. “These missing dollars are not abstractions on a balance sheet; they are lives taken, harvests lost, and development denied,” warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

In a separate subject, the COP29 Presidency has launched the COP Truce, urging countries to halt military operations during the summit. Supported by 132 countries, the initiative hopes to reduce the environmental harm caused by warfare, which contributes more emissions than aviation and shipping combined. According to leaders in support, war and armed conflicts worsen the climate crisis.