Climate action must rise above politics

THIS year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku is taking place against a tumultuous geopolitical backdrop. In addition to shifting strategic alliances, trade tensions and violent conflict, the “year of elections” has ushered in a period of heated political rhetoric and led to changes of government.

But this must not distract us from the current state of the planet and the real economy. The effects and costs of climate change are increasing. Extreme weather events, from hurricanes in the Caribbean to catastrophic floods in Europe and droughts in the Amazon, are growing more frequent and intense, enhancing the risk of financial instability, especially in the world’s most vulnerable and highly indebted countries.

At the same time, an energy revolution is already in full swing: the deployment of renewables is growing exponentially, and annual investment in clean power sources now far exceeds that in fossil fuels. Citizens and companies are also increasingly aware of the need to invest in climate-change adaptation. The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s most recent climate survey shows that 94 per cent of Europeans and 88 per cent of Americans support adaptation measures, while around half of respondents say that such measures should be a national priority.