COP29 opens in Azerbaijan as world seeks new climate change funding goal

Attendees visit an exhibition area of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

BAKU, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or COP29, kicked off in Azerbaijan's capital city of Baku on Monday.

This year's climate conference is aimed at seeking a new climate change funding goal to replace the existing collective target of mobilizing and providing 100 billion U.S. dollars annually by developed countries in support of developing countries.

The conference, scheduled for Nov. 11-22, will also focus on such topics as global carbon trading market, as well as global energy transition from fossil fuels.

The new goal "must be effective and adequate" to address the urgent problems, said Mukhtar Babayev, the COP29 president-designate and Azerbaijan's minister for ecology and natural resources at the opening ceremony.

He added that the goal should also "address the needs and priorities of developing countries" and include detailed qualitative elements.

The parties "must agree on a new global climate finance goal," said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UNFCCC, calling on participants to work harder to reform the global financial system.

COP, or Conference of the Parties, refers to a series of formal meetings where governments assess global efforts to advance the Paris Agreement and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with the aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Attendees communicate at an exhibition area of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

Attendees communicate at an exhibition area of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

This photo shows a view at an exhibition area of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

Attendees are seen at an exhibition area of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)