Baku [Azerbaijan], November 16: A group of former leaders and climate experts said the annual U.N. COP climate talks were no longer fit for purpose and needed to be reformed, publishing a critical open letter mid-way through what has so far been a fractious summit.
Nearly 200 countries are gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan with a primary goal of agreeing on a new target for how much money needs to be provided to help developing countries adapt to climate change and recover from destructive weather.
So far those talks have made little progress.
Delegates struggled for hours on the opening day to agree on an agenda and the mood has been soured by doubts about the United States' future role under a Donald Trump presidency, diplomatic spats involving the host nation and the withdrawal of the Argentinian delegation.
Friday's letter, signed by more than 20 experts, former leaders and scientists, including former UNFCCC boss Christiana Figueres and former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the COP process had achieved much, but now needed an overhaul.
Nevertheless, others have also criticized the COP process in Baku.
Earlier this week Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for urgent reform and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke of leaders sitting on sofas and taking photographs while speeches at the summit played out on muted television screens.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation
