Cop29 offer to poorer countries dismissed as 'shameful failure'

Developing countries were being urged by civil society groups to reject "a bad deal" at the UN climate talks last night, after rich nations refused to increase an "insulting" offer of finance to tackle the climate crisis.

- Fiona Harvey Dharna Noor Patrick Greenfield Baku

The stage is set for a bitter battle today over how much money poor countries should receive from the governments of the rich world, which have offered $250bn a year by 2035 to help the poor shift to a low-carbon economy and adapt to the effects of extreme weather.

That is "nowhere near enough", according to poor country groupings and campaigners at the talks. "This is unacceptable," said the Alliance of Small Island States in a statement. Climate finance at this level would not enable countries to green their economies to the extent needed to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, they said. "The proposed $250bn a year by 2035 is no floor, but a cap that will severely stagnate climate action efforts."

The Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice told the Guardian there were calls for a walkout, saying "no deal is better than a bad deal", as the Cop29 UN climate summit dragged on into today.