The 29th United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended late and with a massive finance shortfall of pledged climate finance for countries in the Global South, roughly $1 trillion less than what was sought. Many delegates were already on flights home when the final agreement was reached, while other nations like Papua New Guinea chose not to attend the conference altogether, while over 1,700 fossil fuel industry lobbyists attended. Collective frustration with this result spurred former executive secretary of the UNFCCC, Christiana Figueres – under whose leadership the Paris Agreement was struck – to co-author a letter to the UN urging an overhaul to the COP process, and calling it “no longer fit for purpose.” Figueres joins Mongabay’s podcast to speak about why the world’s governments seemingly cannot agree to move decisively on climate action, and what can be done about it. In this frank conversation, Figueres says why – despite these frustrations and disappointments – she remains optimistic about the global effort to decarbonize economies and transport systems, citing recent advancements in the deployment of renewable energy and the power of everyday actions. “I used to think that it was our collective responsibility to guarantee to future generations that they would have a perfect world. And now that I am a recent grandmother, I really look back at that and I go, ‘my God, we cannot guarantee to future generations that they’re going to have a perfect world.’ We cannot. So, what can…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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