Climate talks in Azerbaijan head into their second week, coinciding with G20 in Rio

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — United Nations talks on getting money to curb and adapt to climate change resumed Monday with tempered hope that negotiators and ministers can work through disagreements and hammer out a deal after slow progress last week.

That hope comes from the arrival of the climate and environment ministers from around the world this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the COP29 talks. They’ll give their teams instructions on ways forward.

"We are in a difficult place,” said Melanie Robinson, economics and finance program director of global climate at the World Resources Institute. “The discussion has not yet moved to the political level — when it does I think ministers will do what they can to make a deal.”

Talks in Baku are focused on getting more climate cash for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels, adapt to climate change and pay for damages caused by extreme weather. But countries are far apart on how much money that will require. Several experts put the sum needed at around $1 trillion.

“One trillion is going to look like a bargain five, 10 years from now,” said Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists, citing a multitude of costly recent extreme weather events from flooding in Spain to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States. “We’re going to wonder why we didn’t take that and run with it.”

Also on Monday, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been mulling a proposal to cut public spending for foreign fossil fuel projects. The OECD — made up of 38 member countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Germany — are discussing a deal that could prevent up to $40 billion worth of carbon-polluting projects.

At COP29, activists are protesting the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and Turkey who they say are the key holdouts preventing the agreement in Paris from being finalized.

“It’s of critical importance that President Biden comes out in support. We know it’s really important that he lands a deal that Trump cannot undo. This can be really important for Biden’s legacy," said Lauri van der Burg, Global Public Finance Lead at Oil Change international. “If he comes around, this will help mount pressure on other laggards including Korea, Turkey and Japan.”

Meanwhile, the world’s biggest decision makers are halfway around the world as another major summit convenes. Brazil is hosting the Group of 20 summit, which runs Nov. 18-19, bringing together many of the world's largest economies. Climate change — among other major topics like rising global tensions and poverty — will be on the agenda.

Harjeet Singh, global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said G20 nations “cannot turn their backs on the reality of their historical emissions and the responsibility that comes with it.”

"They must commit to trillions in public finance," he said.

In a written statement on Friday, United Nations Climate Change's executive secretary Simon Stiell said “the global climate crisis should be order of business Number One” at the G20 meetings.

Stiell noted that progress on stopping more warming should happen both in and out of climate talks, calling the G20's role “mission-critical.”

Associated Press journalist Ahmed Hatem in Baku contributed to this report.

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Activist Ann Carlotta Oltmanns, center, pretends to resuscitate Earth with others during a demonstration at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Activist Friday Barilule Nbani leads a demonstration for clean energy at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President, bangs a gavel during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Attendees gather in the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan's COP29 lead negotiator, attends a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A demonstrators holds a sign that reads "don't burn our future" at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Attendees arrive at the venue as it rains during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Arnold Jason Del Rosario leads a demonstration on climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

People arrive as it rains at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Gaza Strip, killing two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said Monday.

A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in the strike overnight in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government.

An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the nearby Nasser Hospital. The two children were beheaded by the blast and their remains were placed in one body bag.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children. The fighting has left some 76 people dead in Israel, including 31 soldiers.

Here's the Latest:

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Gaza Strip, killing two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said. A third child, 10 years old, was wounded.

The Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said Monday that the overnight strike occurred in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the nearby Nasser Hospital. The two children were beheaded by the blast and their remains were placed in one body bag.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children.

For more Middle East news: https://apnews.com/hub/middle-east

A Lebanese policeman walks in front of destroyed shops that were hit Sunday evening by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman uses her phone to record destroyed shops that were hit Sunday evening by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman weeps as she passes in front of destroyed shops that were hit Sunday evening in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man removes debris from his damaged car at the site where an Israeli airstrike on Sunday evening hit in central Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People gather in front of destroyed shops that were hit Sunday evening in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man watches the damage at the site where an Israeli airstrike Sunday evening hit in central Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)