COP29 is over, with developing countries complaining that the $300bn a year in climate finance they will receive by 2035 is a “paltry sum”. …It is an improvement – on the current contribution of $100bn a year. However, the developing world, which had pushed for more, had many genuine issues with the final sum.

• There were complaints it simply was not enough and that it was a mixture of grants and loans.
• Shepherding 200 countries to an intricate deal on climate finance was always going to be a tough task.
• The quiet ascent of China – With the role of the US in doubt because of Trump, attention shifted to who might become the real climate leader.
• The need to ensure that a second Trump administration would not upend years of careful climate negotiations.
• One very noticeable trend at COP29 was the sometimes more aggressive stance taken by many environmental NGOs and campaigners.