| SHOW ME THE MONEY GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS: As COP29 approaches its halfway point, focus is turning to the main policy objective of this year’s U.N. climate talks: agreeing a new climate finance goal to replace the $100 billion per year target set back at the Copenhagen COP in 2009. Putting a figure on it: The Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, composed of heavy-hitters like Amar Bhattacharya and Nicholas Stern, released its long-awaited report here in Baku on Thursday, estimating that poorer nations need $1 trillion a year by 2030 to deal with the impact of climate change. Hitting an impasse: But there’s still a wide gap between what developing countries say they need and what developed countries are prepared to give — not to mention the thorny issue of whether countries like China and the Gulf states should also cough up, given they weren’t included in the 1990s list of developed countries. Managing expectations: German State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth told reporters Thursday that “whoever has expectations” of public finance in the trillions will be disappointed — pointing out that many European countries are in tough financial straits. Put a number on the table: In an interview with Karl Mathiesen, Samoan Ambassador Pa’olelei Luteru — the chair of a group of 39 vulnerable island nations — said poorer countries had proposed a range of targets, mostly in excess of $1 trillion per year. But donor countries have so far declined to counter those numbers with anything concrete. Asked if he felt industrialized nations were negotiating in good faith, Luteru said: “Good question.” What it really means: For Luteru, these meetings are personal. When he left his Pacific island to study in New Zealand and Australia, he told village elders he would return armed with the skills to help his community. He’s now Samoa’s man at the United Nations. But when he returns home, he gets the same question. “I go and see my village, see my chiefs, and they ask me, ‘What are you doing at the U.N.?’ So I tell them, ‘Well, we engage in these high-level discussions, blah, blah, blah. And the question is, ‘Well when are we going to see the benefit of all this?’ And I say to them, ‘Well, look, just be patient. It will come.’ Three years later. I go back. Still nothing.” FOCUS ON AFRICA COURT DECISION LOOMS: Days after Shell scored a victory in a landmark case over corporate emissions, another court is due to deliver a verdict today on the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The project will deliver the world’s largest pipeline — a 1,443-kilometer or so pipe which will ferry oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert oil fields to an export terminal on the Tanzanian coast. The East African Court of Justice will rule on an appeal brought against the project led by TotalEnergies. The case has become a lightning rod for climate activists. Selling out: Ugandan activist Patience Nabukalu , who is at COP, described the pipeline as a “carbon bomb.” “My government has prioritized money over its own people. The project alone is going to emit 34 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions per year, 100,000 people will be displaced,” she told Playbook. She called out European countries for investing in fossil fuel operations in developing countries. “This oil is going to be shipped to the Global North.” FINDING SOLUTIONS: Also today, the Rockefeller Foundation will announce $US10.9 million to advance African-led clean energy solutions, including $5 million to help Zambia’s efforts to deploy more than 1,000 mini grids in rural communities and just over $2 million for investments in the African Energy Futures Initiative. Mind the gap: The scale of the challenge facing Africa is laid bare in a report launched Thursday which finds that the total climate finance gap for agriculture and land use across Africa will reach $55.47 billion by 2030 — with the Horn of Africa and Sahel regions particularly vulnerable. ON THE GROUND FORECAST: Today, a high of 14C/58F and low of 9C/49F, with Saturday looking similar. But showers are currently expected Sunday. SPOTTED at Goals House last night: Bezos Earth Fund’s Andrew Steer; U.S. State Department’s Rick Duke; New York Times’ David Gelles; Semafor’s Tim McDonnell and Bennett Richardson; Foreign Policy’s Susan Sadigova. FUN IN BAKU: If you’re at a loose end this weekend, here are some ideas for what you can do: Magic carpet ride: Channel your inner Aladdin and visit Azerbaijan’s National Carpet Museum. The building, located right along the seafront in downtown Baku, is worth a visit for its architecture alone. Resembling a giant rolled carpet, it was designed by Austrian architect Franz Janz. A new exhibition — “Climates and Carpets” — opens today. Catch some sport: Azerbaijan will face off against Estonia on Saturday in the qualifying round of the European Championships soccer tournament. The match won’t be at Baku Stadium (there’s a certain international conference happening there), but at Gabala City Stadium, about 190 kilometers inland. Let’s see if Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho makes an appearance. Splash the cash: Head to Port Baku Mall for some retail therapy or (more likely) window shopping. Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen are some of the luxury brands you’ll find. All those oil dollars need to be spent somewhere. Visit the old city: A UNESCO World Heritage site, Baku’s medieval city is a must-see. The 15th-century Palace of the Shirvanshahs and 12th-century Maiden Tower are a reminder of Baku’s historical status as a power center located strategically between Europe and Asia, which made it a popular stop on the Silk Road. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Global Playbook will be taking a break this weekend. We’ll be back in your inbox Tuesday morning, right through to the finish. AGENDA All times are local. Full agenda here. — COP29 Energy Transition Investment Forum for Central Asia; Mugham room; 8:30 a.m. — Action on Resilience: Investing in inclusive climate adaptation and resilience toward 2030; Nasimi Room; 9 a.m. — Scaling just transition finance in oil and gas producing countries; hosted by Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance; Joint MDC Pavilion; Blue Zone; 9 a.m. —High-level Panel on Climate and Peace: Enabling joint action to leave no one behind; Hirkan Room; 10 a.m. — High Level Roundtable on Green Energy, Hydrogen and Global Energy Storage and Grids; Mugham Room; 10:30 a.m. — AOSIS: Alliance of Small Island States & Least Developed Countries Chairs Press Conference; Karabakh Room; 11 a.m. — Al Gore and Climate TRACE present data revealing opportunities for cutting greenhouse gas emissions; Plenary Room Nizami, Zone D; 10:30 a.m. — Launch of new report by Clean Air Task Force on role of AI and HPC in advancing fusion energy; ITER booth, Green Zone; 11:30 a.m. — The power of partnerships: supercharging collaboration between public and private sectors in achieving net zero; U.N. Climate Change Pavilion, Area E; noon. — Raising Climate Ambition event, hosted by the Climate Reality Project; speakers include Al Gore; Founder and Director of Power Shift Africa Mohamed Adow; Mike Davis, CEO of Global Witness; Colombia’s Environment Minister María Susana Muhamad González; The Landmark Tower; 2 p.m. — Putting the Tripling Renewables Pledge to Work: Energy Storage and Beyond; U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Center; Delegations’ Pavilion, F2; 2:15 p.m. — Youth-led Climate Forum Dialogue on Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Water Resource Management; Meeting Room 7; 3 p.m. — Beyond generation: Building infrastructure to achieve energy transition goals; hosted by the Atlantic Council, SOCAR and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy. Speakers include Geoffrey Pyatt, assistant secretary at the Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State, and COP29 CEO Elnur Soltanov; Universe Conference Room, Green Zone; 4 p.m. — The U.K. Pavilion hosts partners reception at the 360 Bar in the Hilton. Among the companies partnering this year are Octopus Energy, AVEVA, Corporate Leaders Group UK, DP World, National Grid, SSE and Standard Chartered; 5:30 p.m. THANKS TO: Zia Weise, Karl Mathiesen and Sara Schonhardt. Global Playbook couldn’t happen without Global Playbook editor Zoya Sheftalovich.
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