Representatives of small islands and developing countries walk out of UN climate change conference News
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Representatives of small islands and developing countries walk out of UN climate change conference

Negotiators from the Association of Small Islands States (AOSIS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) walked out of negotiations during overtime United Nations climate talks on Saturday, saying their climate finance demands were being ignored. Juan Carlon Monterrey Gomez of Panama told  CNN that developed countries were attempting to undermine the claims of developing countries by systematically ignoring and exhausting them through a “war of attrition.” Gomez said:

Every minute that passes we are going to just keep getting weaker and weaker and weaker. They don’t have that issue. They have massive delegations… This is what they always do. They break us at the last minute. You know, they push it and push it and push it until our negotiators leave. Until we’re tired, until we’re delusional from not eating, from not sleeping.

Similar calls to end “political games” at the UN were made by AOSIS chair Cedric Schuster.

The negotiators walked out of the talk after receiving planned budgets which Monterrey Gomez described as “unacceptable.” Gomez said on X that the budget draft was “negotiated behind the backs of many countries including Panama.”

AOSIS has specifically commented that it “remains committed” to the COP29 Climate Change Conference and achieving the best outcome to prevent and manage climate change for the world. However, it said the discussions were not offering a “progressive way forward” and were not “inclusive” for small islands and developing countries, even though the Paris Climate Agreement 2015 obligates developed countries to aid developing countries. Schuster added, “We are literally sinking. … How can you expect us to go back to the women, men, and children of our countries with a poor deal which will surely plunge them into further peril?”

Notably, countries moved forward with operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund during COP29. The fund will allow developing countries to receive monetary aid and compensation for the loss they suffer due to climate change.

COP29 is the latest in a series of UN conferences on eliminating climate change, this year hosted in Baku. This particular conference has been characterized by its emphasis on the financial, specifically loss, damage, adaptation, and mitigation. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) suggested that 500 billion dollars should be raised this year to help fight climate change and 1.5 trillion by 2030.

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