Bernt Nordman is a climate expert and represents the World Wildlife Fund WWF Finland on site in Baku.
The meeting started with a big so-called agenda fight, meaning that the whole first day went to discussing what we can discuss, he says. So it didn't start very well, but now the negotiations have really gotten underway, he says.
To be able to label COP29 as successful, a new collection target for climate financing is needed, the so-called NCQG.
The current promise is 100 billion dollars per year, we need a decision that is many times higher.
Simon Evans is a policy editor at the British climate news site Carbon Brief. He thinks the meeting has shifted into a new gear.
Now the negotiations are underway and they are like a bubble in the background until it bursts and takes on a more prominent role, he says.
The logistics have worked unusually smoothly. But the food is expensive – a soup lunch costs equivalent to around 260 kronor.
There are no windows here, and it's very strong artificial light. So it's a typical COP environment, he says.
Lower motivation
David Lapola, professor at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, is still jet-lagged after the trip from his home country Brazil. He will present a research report at one of the many side events of the conference.
He says that there are many people, but that the motivation feels lower than in Dubai last year.
I don't think people expect so much from this year's COP. The ambitions are not that high.
He notes that his specialty, the forest, is absent, but that it may get a bigger role in next year's meeting in Brazil.
It's a big paradox here in Baku because literally it smells of oil. I think there's a refinery nearby, and the smoke drifts over the city. Everywhere you see the conference motto – in solidarity for a green world – but the smell you sense doesn't rhyme with that, he says.
Tightening up
Laetitia Pettinotti is an observer from the think tank ODI, and has insight into the negotiations – which started with delays.
Everyone is gearing up for a marathon, she says.
She thinks that more than a target sum is needed for the agreement to be seen as successful. It needs to emphasize the urgency, be clear and function as a springboard for financial climate cooperation.
There's much more to negotiate when it comes to climate financing, she says.
