Highlights of the agreement reached at COP29 in Baku:
$300 billion
Under the framework set up by the UN in 1992, the 23 developed countries - and the European Union - that have historically been responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions are obliged to contribute to financing the fight against climate change.
The Baku agreement increases the amount developed countries must contribute to at least $300 billion a year by 2035.
This is more than the $100 billion currently required under a previous agreement that is in force until next year.
But it is far less than the $500 billion that some developing countries demanded during the tense negotiations in Baku.
The agreement says the money will come directly from a "wide variety of sources," including government budgets, private sector investment and other funding.
It also mentions "alternative sources" - a reference to the potential global taxes being discussed on the aviation and maritime industries and on the wealthy.
The hope is that money from developed countries will help stimulate private investment to meet the ambitious goal - written into the agreement - of providing at least $1.3 trillion a year by next decade.
That is the amount UN experts say is needed by 2035.
"With these funds and this structure, we are confident that we will reach the 1.3 trillion target," EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told delegates at COP29.
China's role
The US and EU have pushed for the donor base to be broadened to include countries still listed as developing but which have already become rich, such as China and Saudi Arabia.
But China, the world's second-largest economy and largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has steadfastly refused to change its status, recalling that it already provides bilateral aid.
The agreement states that developed countries will "take the lead" in providing $300 billion - suggesting that other countries could join in.
The text "encourages" developing countries to "make contributions," which would remain "voluntary."
There was one novelty: climate finance that developing countries like China provide through multilateral development banks would count towards the $300 billion target.
"It's a matter of fairness and it's important for all of us who have the opportunity to do so to do our part," Hoekstra said.
"That's why it's good, given the size of the problem, to broaden the base of contributors on a voluntary basis."
Share the money
The negotiations have also become an arena of contention within the developing world.
The Least Developed Countries (LDC) bloc demanded to receive $220 billion a year, while the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) wanted $39 billion - demands that were opposed by other developing countries.
These figures were not included in the final agreement.
Instead, it calls for a tripling of other public funds they receive by 2030.
A report on how to increase climate finance for these countries is expected at the next meeting of the parties, to be held in Brazil in 2025. | BGNES
