G20 Leaders Push for Climate Finance Breakthrough Ahead of COP29

Ahead of COP29 in Azerbaijan, G20 leaders convene to address climate finance and sustainable development. They stress the importance of increasing climate finance, pushing negotiations for a new financial goal to aid poorer nations. Challenges remain due to vagueness and differing country obligations.

In a crucial meeting ahead of the COP29 climate summit, leaders of the Group of 20 major economies gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to address sustainable development and the global transition to cleaner energy sources. The meeting's focus was on solidifying a deal to combat climate change at the upcoming U.N. talks in Azerbaijan.

With record-high global temperatures underscoring the urgency, and with U.S. policy potentially shifting under Donald Trump's return, the G20 underscored the need to drastically increase climate finance. The leaders called for elevating financing from billions to trillions of dollars to facilitate substantial progress in climate action.

Despite their commitments, the G20 statement was criticized by activists for its lack of specificity on climate finance. As negotiations continue in Baku, leaders urged for a solid financial framework to support developing nations, emphasizing that the global response to climate change hinges on multilateral cooperation and financial commitments.

(With inputs from agencies.)