At Cop29, we must treat the climate crisis with the same urgency as Covid – history shows it can be done

Site of the Cop29 climate change conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan, last month. Photograph: Aziz Karimov/Reuters

To avert climate catastrophe, the world needs more climate finance. At Cop29, the UN climate summit in Baku that begins today, agreeing a new climate finance goal is the top priority of Azerbaijan’s Cop presidency.

Developing countries require assistance to tackle their emissions and build resilience against growing climate threats. The $100bn annual target, set in 2009, was intended to be fulfilled by 2020. It is now outdated and falls far short of what is needed for countries at the sharp end of the climate crisis.