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Over two weeks in November, more than 55,000 government negotiators, business representatives, activists and journalists gathered in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku for the annual conference of parties (COP) to the UN’s climate change convention (UNFCCC).

They were joined on the opening days of COP29 by about 105 heads of state and government who made back-to-back speeches. Most, like UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, emphasised the urgency of addressing the climate crisis. But the host, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, went the other way with a speech praising fossil fuels as a “gift of the god” and calling on leaders to be “realistic”.

Negotiators and ministers then got to work hammering out a new goal to finance climate action in developing countries after the current one runs out next year. Those talks inched forward for two weeks, with rich nations refusing to put a concrete offer on the table.

At the last minute, as the pavilions of the international trade show that accompanies COPs were packed away on the official closing day, the negotiations exploded. On that Friday, a number for the core finance goal was finally put on the table, sparking anger among developing nations which dismissed it as too low. On Saturday evening, negotiators from small islands and the world’s poorest countries stormed out – and a target of $300bn a year by 2035 was pushed through in controversial circumstances in the early hours of Sunday.

Fractious COP29 lands $300bn climate finance goal, dashing hopes of the poorest

Climate Home had a reporting team in Baku throughout, producing a bulletin and newsletter each day. As well as our explainer on what was agreed at COP29, below we bring you our five most dramatic moments from the Baku talks.

1.UN’s climate head gets personal

At the start of every COP, the head of the UN’s climate body gives what amounts to a motivational speech, calling on governments to do more to tackle the climate crisis.

This year, instead of reeling off statistics or listing climate-driven disasters, Simon Stiell got personal. He became emotional as he put up on a big screen a photograph of him hugging his neighbour Florence in front of her hurricane-destroyed house on their native Caribbean island of Carriacou (part of Grenada).

“At 85, Florence has become one of the millions of victims of climate change this year alone,” he said. In perhaps a coded reference to Donald Trump’s recent election as US president, he said Florence was “knocked down and getting back up again” – and government officials in the audience should too.

2. Host-nation leader calls fossil fuels “gift of the god”

On COP29’s second day, after a long cultural ceremony of music and dancing, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev kicked off a series of speeches by the UN secretary-general and world leaders – and used it to double down on his past public backing of fossil fuels.

After attacking American”fake news media” and “so-called independent NGOs”, Aliyev repeated his claim that fossil fuels are “a gift of the god” and called out the European Union for criticising fossil fuels while doing a multi-year deal to buy gas from Azerbaijan.

He later used a summit of small island developing states to accuse France and the Netherlands of ongoing “colonial rule”, sparking a diplomatic spat with those countries and the European Union, which sprang to their defence. As a result, France’s environment minister decided to boycott COP29.

3. Finance goal: “Is it a joke?”

Nine days into COP29, developed countries had yet to put forward a proposal for how much they were willing to contribute to the post-2025 climate finance goal.

The most anyone had to go on was a Politico report that the European Union was considering $200bn-300bn a year – so the $200bn figure was raised by a journalist at a press conference of Bolivia’s chief negotiator Diego Pacheco, Uganda’s Adonia Ayebare and Kenya’s Ali Mohamed.

“Is it a joke?” asked Pacheco with a smile, to applause from climate campaigners in the room.

Ayebare laughed and repeated his words, before Mohamed added more sternly: “We don’t know where you’re getting the 200 but, joke or otherwise, the quantum we are putting forward is nothing near to what you have just suggested.”

This off-the-cuff remark led to the word “joke” being used repeatedly by campaigners and negotiators about the finance goal for the rest of the summit. The next day, the COP29 presidency published a $250-billion-a-year proposal, which increased to $300 billion in the final agreement.

4. Vulnerable nations storm out

On the last night of the negotiations, all government delegations were summoned to a meeting room where Azeri diplomats showed them a copy of the latest draft text.

According to Michai Robertson, finance negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), developed countries and big developing nations like China, India and Brazil had been consulted by the presidency the night before, with those conversations informing the new text.

But, he said, AOSIS and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) had not been asked for their views. So after reading it, the chair of the LDC group Evans Njewa told the room: “We are not ready to associate with this paper and our sitting here means nothing to us.”

“If you want to continue discussing on this paper, then you can do so – this will allow us to leave this room – when you are done, maybe you call us back,” he added.

He called for the meeting’s suspension, stood up, picked up his bag and walked out. So did the rest of the negotiators for his group and those of AOSIS.

Robertson was among them. He told Climate Home the walk-out was unplanned and spontaneous.

Robertson said the presidency then gathered representatives of the LDCs, small island developing states (SIDS) and developed countries upstairs, where the LDCs and SIDs won compromises like a commitment to triple the amount of finance that goes through multilateral UN climate funds like the Green Climate Fund.

On their way to that meeting, rich-country negotiators were mobbed by climate campaigners and journalists who had gathered in the hall outside the meeting rooms. Germany’s climate envoy Jennifer Morgan rushed out, leaving journalists running after her as she refused to answer questions on her way to the presidency’s private office.

US climate envoy John Podesta, meanwhile, walked off more slowly and was surrounded by security and TV cameras as a campaigner shouted “shame” and “you’re selling us out”. He told reporters that he hoped this was the “storm before the calm”.

5. India ignored?

As negotiators huddled in the plenary room in the early hours of Sunday morning, a rumour spread to journalists at the back of the room that India was preparing to block the agreement on the post-2025 finance goal.

Their objection, it was said, was over language that recognised “the voluntary intention of [governments] to count all climate-related outflows from and climate-related finance mobilised by multilateral development banks towards achievement of the goal”.

A big chunk of climate finance comes from multilateral development banks (MDBs) like the World Bank. These banks are mostly owned by developed countries – but big emerging economies like China and India also have stakes in some of them.

Currently, developed countries are only given credit for 70% of the climate finance flowing through MDBs – roughly equivalent to their share in these banks. But the change in the new goal to include all of it could count developing countries’ share of MDB funding as well, making it easier for developed nations to meet the target without mobilising additional money.

Shortly before 3am on Sunday morning after a string of mundane decisions, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev invited the room to adopt the draft and without pausing for a second, banged down his gavel to signal official agreement.

Some negotiators stood up to applaud, some stayed sitting and clapped politely, while others looked on sternly. Babayev and Stiell hugged on stage and Azerbaijani negotiators punched the air.

Three members of the Indian delegation rushed onto the stage where Babayev was presiding, said something to the officials there and walked back looking angry.

When given the floor to speak, India’s head of delegation Chandni Raina said: “This has been an unfortunate incident and it is in continuation of a string of such unfortunate incidents that we have seen of not following inclusivity”.

She said she had informed the UNFCCC and COP29 presidency that she had wanted to make a statement before any decision was made. “However,” she said to whoops and applause, “this has been stage-managed and we are extremely, extremely disappointed with this incident.”

Later in the plenary, Nigeria’s climate envoy Nkiruka Maduekwe said she “lent [her] voice to India”, adding that “we have a right as countries to choose if we are going to take this or not – and I am saying that we do not accept this.”

“It is 3am and we are going to clap our hands and say this is what we are going to do – I don’t think so,” she finished. “Your statement will be reflected in the report,” replied Babayev.

Despite the objections of two nations representing a fifth of the world’s population, the deal appeared to have been done. Joanna Depledge, who researches climate talks at Cambridge University, said that “once a decision has been gavelled through, it would be a really big thing for it to be overturned”.

(Reporting by Joe Lo and Mariel Lozada; editing by Megan Rowling)

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COP29: Five most dramatic moments from the UN climate summit in Baku

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Vanuatu pushes new UN resolution demanding full climate compensation

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February 9, 2026

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Countries responsible for climate change could be required to pay “full and prompt reparation” for the damage they have caused, under a new United Nations resolution being pursued by the Pacific island state of Vanuatu, an initial draft shows.

The resolution seeks to turn into action last year’s landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found that states have a legal obligation to prevent climate harm and that breaches of this duty could expose them to compensation claims from affected countries.

Under the “zero draft” of the resolution seen by Climate Home News, the UN’s General Assembly, its main policy-making body, would also demand that countries stop any “wrongful acts” contributing to rising emissions, which may include the production and licensing of planet-heating fossil fuels.

Gas flaring soars in Niger Delta post-Shell, afflicting communities

‘Demand’ is the strongest verb calling for an obligation to comply in UN language, but it is rarely used in a resolution.

Countries would also be called upon to respect their legal obligations by enacting national climate plans consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5C and by adopting appropriate policies, including measures to “ensure a rapid, just and quantified phase-out of fossil fuel production and use”, the document shows.

End of March vote targeted

The draft, meant as a starting point for negotiations, was circulated last week by the government of Vanuatu following discussions with a dozen nations, including the Netherlands, Colombia and Kenya.

Countries are expected to take part in informal consultations between February 13-17 aimed at agreeing on wording that would secure broad support among UN member states, according to a statement from Vanuatu, which also led the diplomatic drive for the ICJ’s advisory opinion. A vote on the follow-up resolution could take place by the end of March, it added.

    Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s climate minister, said respecting the court’s decision is “essential for the credibility of the international system and for effective collective action”.

    “At a time when respect for international law is under pressure globally, this initiative affirms the central role of the International Court of Justice and the importance of multilateral cooperation,” he added in written comments.

    New damage register and reparation mechanism

    If adopted in its current form, the draft resolution would also create an “International Register of Damage”, which is described as a comprehensive and transparent record of evidence on loss and damage linked to climate change.

    It would also ask the UN secretary-general to put forward proposals for a climate reparation mechanism that could coordinate and facilitate the resolution of compensation claims and promote financial models to help cover climate-related damage.

    The fledgling Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) – set up under the UN climate change regime – is set to hand out money to the first set of initiatives aimed at addressing climate-driven destruction later this year. However, the just-over $590 million currently in the fund’s coffers is dwarfed by the scale of need in developing countries, with loss and damage costs estimated to reach up to $400 billion a year by 2030.

    Like other small island nations, Vanuatu is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, while having contributed the least to global warming. Last year’s ICJ decision stemmed from a March 2023 resolution led by the Pacific nation asking the world’s top court to define countries’ legal obligations in relation to climate change.

    Regenvanu said in September 2025 that it was important to follow up the ICJ ruling with a new UNGA resolution because it could be approved by a majority vote, while progress can be blocked in other fora like the UN climate negotiations that require consensus for decisions.

    The post Vanuatu pushes new UN resolution demanding full climate compensation appeared first on Climate Home News.

    Vanuatu pushes new UN resolution demanding full climate compensation

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    Climate Change

    China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies

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    February 9, 2026

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    Even the busiest streets of Shanghai have become noticeably quieter as sales of electric vehicles (EVs) skyrocketed in China, with charging points mushrooming in residential compounds, car parks and service stations across the megacity.

    Many Chinese drivers have upgraded their conventional vehicles to electric ones – or already replaced old EVs with newer models – incentivised by the government’s generous trade-in policies, or tempted by the latest hi-tech features such as controls powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

    “Different from conventional cars, EVs are more like fast-moving consumer goods, like smartphones,” explained Mo Ke, founder and chief analyst of Tianjin-based battery-research firm, RealLi Research. Their digital systems can become outdated quickly, so Chinese people typically change their EVs after five or six years while a conventional car can be driven much longer, he told Climate Home News.

    EV sales surpassed 16 million in China last year. Roughly 10% of all vehicles on the road were electric, and half of all new vehicles sold carried a green EV number plate, with an average of 45,000 EVs rolling off the production lines each day.

    But while fast-growing EV uptake is good news for Chinese EV and battery manufacturers, it is creating a huge volume of spent batteries.

    Tsunami of spent batteries

    Last year, China generated nearly 400,000 tonnes of old or damaged power batteries, largely consisting of vehicle batteries, according to government data. That is projected to rise to one million tonnes per year in 2030, officials forecast.

    The growing waste problem has spurred the government to launch a series of new policies aimed at regulating the country’s battery recycling industry, which though well-established is marked by a high degree of informality – especially in the lucrative repurposing sector where discarded EV batteries are given a new lease of life in less energy-intensive uses, such as power storage.

      China is determined to build a “standardised, safe and efficient” recycling system for batteries, Wang Peng, a director at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a press conference as the government launched a recycling industry push in mid-January.

      A policy paper published by the government last month detailed Beijing’s plans to mandate end-of-life recycling for EVs together with their batteries to prevent them from entering the grey, informal market, and establish a digital system to track the lifecycle of every battery manufactured in the country. Under the plans, EV and battery makers will be held responsible for recycling the batteries they produce and sell.

      “The volume of the Chinese market is too big, so it has to take actions ahead of other countries,” Mo said, adding that he expected the government to release more details about implementation of the plans in the near future.

      Critical minerals choke point

      China’s strategy for the battery recycling sector could also prove a boon for the world’s largest battery producer by bolstering its supply of minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese.

      Along with the looming large-scale battery retirement, policymakers’ focus on battery recycling also reflects concern about critical minerals supplies, said Li Yifei, assistant professor of environmental studies at New York University Shanghai. “The government also felt the increasing pressure of securing resources,” he told Climate Home News.

      “When you set up an efficient battery-recycling system, you essentially secure a new source for critical minerals, and that can help you enhance economic security. That’s why the industry is so important,” Lin Xiao, chief executive of Botree Recycling Technologies, a Chinese company offering battery-recycling solutions, told Climate Home News.

      Cobalt and nickel-free electric car batteries boom in “good news” for rainforests

      China dominates global refining of several minerals critical for producing EV batteries, but it still relies on imports of the raw materials – a choke point Beijing is acutely aware of, industry experts say.

      China imports more than 90% of its cobalt, nickel and manganese, which are important ingredients for EV batteries, Hu Song, a senior researcher with the state-run China Automotive Technology and Research Centre, told China’s CCTV state broadcaster in June 2025. For lithium, the figure was around 60% in 2024, according to a separate report.

      “If [those] resources cannot be recycled, then we will keep facing strangleholds in the future,” Hu said.

      Big players gain ground

      Spent EV batteries can be reused in settings that have lower energy requirements, such as in two-wheelers or energy-storage systems. When they become too depleted for repurposing, they can be scrapped and shredded into “black mass”, a powdery mixture containing valuable metals that can be recovered.

      Reflecting the size of China’s EV market, the country already dominates global battery recycling capacity. It is home to 78% of the world’s battery pre-treatment capacity, which is for scrapping and shredding, and 89% of the capacity for refining black mass, according to 2025 forecasts by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a UK firm tracking battery supply chains.

      A number of large corporate players have emerged in the sector in recent years.

      Huayou Cobalt, a major producer of battery minerals, has built a business model for recycling, repurposing and shredding old batteries, as well as refining black mass and making new batteries using recovered materials.

      It recently signed a deal with Encory, a joint venture between BMW and Berlin-based environmental service provider Interzero, to develop cutting-edge battery-recycling technologies, with their first joint factory set to open in China this year.

        Suzhou-based Botree Recycling Technologies has developed various solutions to turn retired power batteries into new ones. Meanwhile, Brunp Recycling, the recycling arm of Chinese battery giant CATL, has built large factories to recycle lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a type of lithium battery that does not use nickel or cobalt, as well as nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries, which are more popular outside of China.

        But Mo, of RealLi Research, said much remains to be done to regulate and formalise the battery recycling industry.

        Underground workshops

        Across China, small underground workshops plague the repurposing sector, rebundling depleted batteries for sale without following industry standards or complying with health and safety requirements.

        Because these operators have lower operational costs, they are able to offer higher prices to EV owners to buy their old batteries, undercutting formal recycling companies.

        “This creates distortions in the market where legitimate players, who invest in proper detection, hazardous waste treatment and compliance, struggle to compete purely on price,” a spokesperson at CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, told Climate Home News.

        Despite such challenges, CATL’s Brunp subsidiary produced 17,100 tonnes of lithium in 2024 from the 128,700 tonnes of depleted batteries it recycled that year, according to CATL’s annual report.

        Recycling expertise in demand

        Since it was founded in 2019, Botree has formed partnerships with several major clients, which together recycle about half of China’s power batteries, the company’s CEO Lin said.

        As other countries grapple with rising volumes of spent batteries, Chinese recyclers are also finding new foreign markets for their know-how.

        Botree has joined forces with Spanish consulting firm ILUNION and renewable energy company EFT-Systems to build a factory to recycle LFP batteries in Valladolid.

        The plant, scheduled to start operation in 2027, will be able to recycle 6,000 tonnes of LFPs annually when it opens, accounting for roughly 15% of demand in the Spanish market.

        “(The companies) tell us what batteries they recycle and what battery materials they want to regenerate,” Lin said. “We can design a complete process for them.”

        The post China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies appeared first on Climate Home News.

        China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies

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        Climate Change

        A Groundbreaking Geothermal Heating and Cooling Network Saves This Colorado College Money and Water

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        10 hours ago

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        February 9, 2026

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        When a former oil and gas developer partnered with Colorado Mesa University on geothermal, the school saved millions and set a new standard for energy-efficient buildings.

        By Phil McKenna

        GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—The discussions started roughly a decade ago, when an account manager at Xcel Energy, the electricity and gas utility provider, expressed confusion, officials at Colorado Mesa University recalled.

        A Groundbreaking Geothermal Heating and Cooling Network Saves This Colorado College Money and Water

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