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Cop29: Can China fill the climate void left by Trump’s return to ‘Drill, baby, drill’?
‘China is in a comfortable position to portray itself as the more responsible global power’ even without any new commitments, analyst says
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The agenda at the United Nations’ Cop29 climate summit has become more complicated with the re-election of Donald Trump, who made “Drill, baby, drill” an applause line on the campaign trail.
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The summit, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday, marks the first time in 15 years that global representatives will negotiate a new global climate finance target – detailing the support wealthy nations will provide to countries that need help to achieve their climate goals.
It also marks the deadline for countries that signed the Paris Agreement to submit stronger nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to showcase their climate commitments before Cop30 next year.
Trump has called climate change a hoax and said in 2017 that he was withdrawing the US from the 2015 Paris Agreement. Analysts are concerned he will withdraw again, and possibly even abandon the underlying UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which the US joined in 1992.
Trump has said he plans to increase oil and gas production and overturn current president Joe Biden’s policies that boost electric vehicles (EVs).
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As US participation falters, all eyes are on China, the world’s second-largest economy and biggest greenhouse-gas emitter.
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