This story originally appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian. $1 trillion a year in climate finance—that’s the goal. Getting a commitment of this size will be the measure of success of this year’s UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, COP29, which is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Brussels’ negotiating position has been affected by the impact of the tragic flooding in Valencia, Spain, in recent weeks, with this signaling the need to devote more resources to climate adaptation. German chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is embroiled in a government crisis, will be absent. So too will French president Emmanuel Macron, due to disagreements with Baku over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict involving Azerbaijan and Armenia. Along with him, most French NGOs will not take part.