The negotiations continue with plenty of disagreement about the way forward, as we approach the halfway mark in Baku, Azerbaijan
My colleague Dharna Noor has covered a new report which find that at least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan. The report raises serious concerns about the planet-heating industry’s influence on the negotiations.
Those lobbyists outnumber the delegations of almost every country at the conference, the analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition shows, with the only exceptions being this year’s host country, Azerbaijan, next year’s host Brazil, and Turkey.
Sarah McArthur, an activist with the environmental group UK Youth Climate Coalition, which is a member of the KBPO coalition, said: “Cop29 kicked off with the revelation that fossil fuel deals were on the agenda, laying bare the ways that industry’s constant presence has delayed and weakened progress for years. The fossil fuel industry is driven by their financial bottom line, which is fundamentally opposed to what is needed to stop the climate crisis, namely, the urgent and just phaseout of fossil fuels.”
Usagi is the fifth major storm to hit the Philippines in just three weeks, with a sixth forecast for this weekend. At least 160 people have been killed and nine million displaced, while the unusual frequency has left people already struggling with the aftermath of previous heavy rains and flooding little time to prepare for the next strike.
Typhoon Yinxing tore off a quarter of Diana Moraleda’s tiled roof in Tuguegaro City in northern Philippines last week. The gaping hole was still there when Typhoon Toraji brought rains over the weekend and when Typhoon Usagi made landfall late on Thursday.
“It’s difficult because many houses were devastated by [Yinxing]. The carpenters themselves are still fixing their own homes. It’s hard to find workers,” Moraleda said.
