TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Demonstrators in the capital of Georgia have set up tents on one of the city's main thoroughfares and vowed Monday to stay there around the clock to demand new parliamentary elections in the country.
An election held in October kept the governing Georgian Dream party in power, but opponents say the vote was rigged.
Several large protests have been held since then and on Sunday demonstrators closed one of the avenues that leads into the center of Tbilisi, the capital.
Critics have accused Georgian Dream, established by a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Many Georgians viewed the October election as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union. The bloc suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after the country’s parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power," similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.
Protesters warm themselves at a bonfire during a rally against the results of the parliamentary elections amid allegations that the vote was rigged in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Protesters' tents are seen in a street during a rally against the results of the parliamentary elections amid allegations that the vote was rigged in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Protesters warm themselves at a bonfire during a rally against the results of the parliamentary elections amid allegations that the vote was rigged in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
A protester sits between tents during a rally against the results of the parliamentary elections amid allegations that the vote was rigged in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — United Nations climate talks resumed Monday with negotiators urged to make progress on a stalled-out deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes.
U.N. Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell called for countries to “cut the theatrics and get down to real business.”
“We will only get the job done if Parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground,” Stiell said to a room of delegates in Baku, Azerbaijan. “I know we can get this done.”
Climate and environment ministers from around the world have arrived at the summit to help push the talks forward.
“Politicians have the power to reach a fair and ambitious deal,” said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev at a press conference at the venue. "They must deliver and engage immediately and constructively.”
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.
Some rich countries say that developing countries that are able to — such as China and Gulf states — should also be contributors to the climate cash pot.
But Teresa Anderson, the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International, was skeptical about rich countries' intentions.
“The concern is that the pressure to add developing countries to the list of contributors is not, in fact, about raising more money for frontline countries,” Anderson said. "Rich countries are just trying to point the finger and have an excuse to provide less finance. That’s not the way to address runaway climate breakdown, and is a distraction from the real issues at stake.”
Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists said $1 trillion in global climate funds "is going to look like a bargain five, 10 years from now.”
“We’re going to wonder why we didn’t take that and run with it,” she said, citing a multitude of costly recent extreme weather events from flooding in Spain to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States.
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.
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.”
Associated Press journalist Ahmed Hatem in Baku contributed to this report.
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Attendees sit during a break while at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Huang Jiangcheng, from China, left, and Fareed Mohammed Felemban, from Saudi Arabia, pose for photos after speaking at a youth session during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Wopke Hoekstra, EU climate commissioner, speaks during a news conference at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, speaks ahead of a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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)
