COP29 in extra time as poor nations reject US$250 billion offer

But the United States signalled it was not looking to negotiate a higher figure.
President-elect Donald Trump takes office in two months and is expected to pull the world’s largest economy again out of climate diplomacy.
“US$250 billion will require even more ambition and extraordinary reach,” said a senior US official, whose team in Baku comes from outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration.
Germany, a longtime leader on climate where elections are due next year, said governments could not meet these costs alone, and debt restructuring and other financial tools would need to play a part.
Obed Koringo, a Kenyan activist from CARE, said US$250 billion was “a joke”.
“From Africa, where I come from, what we are saying is … no deal is better than a bad deal,” he said.
But Avinash Persaud, special advisor on climate change to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, said that the offer showed the talks were “within sight of a landing zone” for the first time.
“There is no deal to come out of Baku that will not leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth,” said the former advisor to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
The United States and European Union have wanted newly wealthy emerging economies like China – the world’s largest emitter — to chip into the pot.
China, which remains classified as a developing nation under the UN framework, provides climate assistance but wants to keep doing so on its own voluntary terms.