Crypto News: Trump looms over climate talks

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This year's COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan was always going to be a bitter fight.

A deal now appears even more challenging given the diminished credibility of US negotiators following Donald Trump's re-election and the fact that some European leaders are distracted by domestic political crises.

The primary objective of this year's talks, which begin today in Baku, is to agree on a new goal to significantly raise rich countries' existing target to provide $100 billion per year to poor nations to help support their green transition and build resilience to increasingly extreme weather events.

There will likely be a bigger number announced at COP29, possibly in the trillions of dollars per year. And there is growing momentum behind the idea of a multi-layered approach, with money also coming from the private sector and multilateral development banks.

One of the biggest fights will be over whether new countries — in particular China — should join the climate-finance donor pool. This has become a more urgent debate as the European Union, the biggest provider, is strapped for cash, and the US, which has never been dependable with this type of aid anyway, isn't likely to become more generous anytime soon.

All this at a time when the perils to the planet are mounting as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. This year will again be the hottest on record, according to European climate scientists, pushing the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping warming within 1.5C of pre-industrial levels increasingly out of reach.

The effects have been evident throughout the year, from hurricanes and wildfires that have racked up billions in damages to catastrophic floods.

Scientists have warned the world is in a critical decade to turn the tide against rising emissions. With that goal at odds with Trump's pledges to boost fossil-fuel production and shun climate cooperation, COP29 looks like one of the last chances to make progress.— John Ainger

The entrance gate to the Baku Stadium ahead of COP29. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he's open to moving up a parliamentary confidence vote, potentially triggering an election as early as February following the collapse last week of his three-party ruling coalition. Scholz said the shift in timing would depend on an agreement with opposition lawmakers, including the poll-leading conservatives, to get a number of bills approved in parliament before the end of his term.

President Joe Biden will argue for continued US aid to Ukraine during the transition to Trump's administration, according to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, as the Kremlin denied a report that President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with the US President-elect. Russia said street battles have started in the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Kurakhove that's a vital logistics hub, the Tass news service reported.

Republicans are closing in on retaining their majority in the US House of Representatives, with just five seats needed to win of the 19 races still in play. That would give them a "trifecta" of controlling the presidency and both chambers of Congress and provide an easier path for much of Trump's legislative agenda, including mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and reining in clean energy.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba won a runoff vote to remain in office despite a national election setback, as he prepares for an expected meeting this month with Trump. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the lower house of parliament in the Oct. 27 election after their worst result since 2009.

The EU sees little chance of a quick deal with China on an alternative to tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, sources say. While talks will continue this week, China hasn't moved toward EU requirements on ensuring that any arrangement is enforceable and matches the effect of the anti-subsidy tariffs the bloc adopted last month.

Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth conceded defeat after partial results from yesterday's election showed his five-party Alliance Lepep was trailing the four-party Alliance du Changement of former premier Navinchandra Ramgoolam.

Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council named Alix Didier Fils-Aimé to replace Garry Conille as prime minister of the Caribbean nation that has been consumed by gang violence since the 2021 murder of President Jovenel Moise.

Australia faces the threat of short-term economic pain in the form of reduced output and further inflation pressures as a result of Trump's policy agenda, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

The contest for the post of Senate leader, which had been expected to go to an ally of the current Republican minority leader, Mitch McConnell, has been shaken up by a demand from Trump and his most prominent supporter, Elon Musk.

Trump wants the new Senate chief to allow him to make appointments when the upper chamber is not in session. Musk, who may play a role in the new administration, said the concession would be essential to speeding Trump's agenda.

The two favorites for the post, Republican Whip John Thune and former whip John Cornyn, vowed on Musk's X social-media platform to accelerate confirmations of Trump's cabinet.

Cornyn and Thune have been angling for the job for years, developing relationships and raising millions of dollars to support fellow Republican senators. Musk, however, then endorsed Florida Senator Rick Scott, a longtime Trump ally and McConnell critic after Scott backed Trump's demand.

One person to watch today: Biden will commemorate Veterans Day by taking part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

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China's trade surplus is on track to hit a record this year, increasingly putting it on a collision course with some of the world's biggest economies by aggravating an imbalance in global commerce and potentially provoking Trump. The difference between Chinese exports and imports is set to reach almost $1 trillion if it continues to widen at the same pace as it has in the year to date, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Almost all of the policymakers, climate scientists and activists gathering in Baku for COP29 will have taken a route not known for being sustainable: a long-haul flight. That is except for a trio of UK-based corporate sustainability advisers, who instead opted for 14 trains, three buses and a 70-minute flight across Europe over two weeks. They avoided plastic forks and water bottles, paper coffee cups and gasoline-powered taxis, turning an extreme case of climate concern into new ways of travel.

Thanks to the 33 people who answered the Friday quiz and congratulations to Raul Maestres for being the first to name Argentina as the country whose president promised a deep purge of diplomats after the nation voted to condemn the US embargo on Cuba at the United Nations.

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