COP29 leaders speak as summit formally opens

People walk near the entrance to the venue of the United Nations climate change conference, known as COP29, ahead of the summit beginning in Baku, Azerbaijan November 10, 2024. Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

BAKU - The annual U.N. climate summit kicked off Monday with countries readying for tough talks on finance and trade, following a year of weather disasters that have emboldened developing countries in their demands for climate cash.

Here's what the summit leaders had to say at the opening ceremony:

COP29 PRESIDENT MUKHTAR BABAYEV

"Colleagues, we are on a road to ruin. But these are not future problems. Climate change is already here.

"Whether you see them or not, people are suffering in the shadows. They are dying in the dark and they need more than compassion, more than prayers and paperwork. They are crying out for leadership and action. COP29 is the unmissable moment to chart a new path forward for everyone.

"We need much more from all of you.

"COP29 is a moment of truth for the Paris Agreement.

It will test our commitment to the multilateral climate system. We must now demonstrate that we are prepared to meet the goals we have set ourselves."

OUTGOING COP28 PRESIDENT SULTAN AL JABER

"I urge you all to prove once again that we can unite, act and deliver.

"Let me leave you with some final words of advice: Let positivity prevail and let it power the process. Let actions speak louder than words. Let results outlast the rhetoric. And remember, we are what we do, not what we say."

UNFCCC CLIMATE CHIEF SIMON STIELL

"Here in Baku, we must agree a new global climate finance goal. If at least two thirds of the world's nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price. 

"If nations can’t build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune.

"So, let's dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every nation, including the largest and wealthiest.

"But it’s not enough to just agree a goal. We must work harder to reform the global financial system. Giving countries the fiscal space they so desperately need." 

"We cannot leave Baku without a substantial outcome

"Now is the time to show that global cooperation is not down for the count. It's rising to this moment."

(Reporting by William James; editing by Simon Jessop)