Malu Cursino
Live page editor

We're now wrapping up our live coverage for today but we'll be back for more this week from this year's UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, where leaders representing almost 200 countries have gathered to flesh out how we can tackle the climate crisis.

On the agenda this year is money, money, and more money. Climate financing and how richer countries support developing nations is one of the main goals from COP29.

Our colleagues on the ground will continue to share the latest breaking news lines, and their insights, from Baku.

Until we're back, you can stay across all climate-related news.

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Image source, Getty Images

Azerbaijan defended its role as host: The decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan has been criticised because of the country’s ties to oil and gas, but its president, Ilham Aliyev, told world leaders at the summit the country's share of global emissions is only 0.1% and Azerbaijan has been the victim of a "slander" campaign. Aliyev also said oil, gas and other natural resources are a "gift of God" and countries should not be blamed for having or selling them.

UK announced 'ambitious' climate goal: British Prime Minister SirKeir Starmer announced a new climate target – to reduce the country's emissions by 81% by 2035 against 1990 levels. The BBC's Mark Poynting has analysed to which extent this commitment is new.

Three-minute speeches: After deadly floods in Spain, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez called for "drastic measures". Brazil's vice president Geraldo Alckmin set the tone as Brazil prepares to host next year's climate talks. While, Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of state in Sudan, said it is essential for the Paris Agreement to be respected.

Island nations made their case: One of COP's most anticipated speakers, Barbados PM Mia Mottley outlined her plan to "transform the financial system" in order to address the challenges of climate change. Vice President of the Seychelles, Ahmed Afif, said previous COPs have pledged funding but this must be the year to decide a mechanism to release the money.

Esme Stallard
Climate reporter in Baku

Outside negotiating rooms, a key part of the COP conference is the exhibition space. Here countries, and organisations, have pavilions where they host talks and events to promote their work and facilitate conversations on climate change.

But how do you get 52,000 people into your pavilion? Well, food is no bad option. And as my colleague Justin Rowlatt explained yesterday, the restaurant food here can be very expensive - so this is welcome by many delegates.

Don't worry, for you tea drinkers there is plenty of that.

And if you're full after all that foraging there's plenty of interactive tech and games to be played. These pavilions are open to any delegate or member of the media wishing to pay them a visit while at COP.

Martha Henriques
Editor, BBC Future Planet

Image source, Getty Images

Azerbaijan was once a landscape where huge aurochs, steppe mammoths and Turanian tigers roamed. By the mid-20th Century, these imposing animals were long gone.

But a Soviet zoologist called Nikolai Vereshchagin was inspired by the remains of these animals, and wanted to reintroduce mammals to the landscape, on a massive scale.

What began with a few imported South American coypu – also known as swamp rats, swamp beavers or nutria – has since become an established invasive species in Azerbaijan and its neighbouring countries.

"I don't remember any wetland I've been in and not really seen the tracks," says Zulfu Farajli, an ecological researcher and walking tour guide in a wetland by the Caspian Sea.

Globally, invasive non-native species are a major driver of biodiversity loss. They contribute to 60% of global extinctions and cause damages worth $423bn (£323bn) a year. Climate change amplifies the risks posed by invasive species.

• Read the full story by Matthew Ponsford on the challenges posed by swamp beavers in Azerbaijan here.

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent in Baku

Image source, Getty Images

When it comes to putting their hands in their pockets to find extra cash for vulnerable countries, many of the leaders gathering here in Baku are staring at their shoes.

Governments the world over are skint because of wars, energy and cost of living crises. So there’s a lot of interest in new ways of raising cash for climate change that doesn't come out of government coffers.

One idea being mooted here is a global tax on windfall profits from fossil fuel companies.

A study from the Technical University of Munich looked at the profits predicted for 93 of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies in 2022. Analysts had forecast the total profits at around $750bn (£587bn) - in reality, it was $1.2tn.

The researchers say these additional profits of $500bn - generated in just one year - equal the total that's been promised to poorer countries over five years.

Some might argue that governments just can't impose extra taxes on the profits of private companies to send overseas. But 42% of the companies that made those profits were state-owned, making them a potential source for climate finance - if governments are willing.

BBC Monitoring

Image source, Getty Images

Azerbaijan views hosting COP29 as an opportunity to position itself as a powerful regional leader - but rights activists and global commentators have been questioning its fitness to do so.

Critics are highlighting the country’s heavy reliance on hydrocarbons and its poor human rights record.

The Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan estimates there are approximately 300 people who have been detained, external on politically-motivated charges. Human Rights Watch says the government’s "vicious crackdown", external on critics has intensified over the last two years, with rights activists, academics and reporters being held.

Neighbouring Armenia, which is negotiating a peace agreement with Azerbaijan after years of conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, has also accused Azerbaijan of holding Armenian civilians as prisoners of war and is calling for their release. Azerbaijan says it has no obligation, external , externalto hand over people it regards as “war criminals” and separatists.

Less than three weeks before the UN climate conference, the European Parliament also voted on a resolution expressing its concern over Baku as the host, external, citing “Azerbaijan’s ongoing human rights abuses”.

Baku remains defiant against such criticism. In July, President Ilham Aliyev accused the West of starting a "coordinated" media attack on Baku, days after his country was named the host of COP29, and said he expected the "attack" to intensify as the international event approached.

Hafizullah Maroof
Reporting from Kabul

It is the first time the Taliban government's delegation is attending a COP climate conference since they swept to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

The Taliban government is not recognised internationally, but they were urging the UN to allow them to participate in the climate conference.

I was told by the Taliban's environmental protection agency that over 30 climate-related projects have been suspended since they returned to power in Afghanistan three years ago.

These projects, worth millions of US dollars, were mainly funded by international donors aiming to reduce the impact of climate change in the country.

According to the UN, Afghanistan is one of the top 10 countries in the world most vulnerable to climate disasters, but it contributes the least to climate change.

It is politically significant for the Taliban government to be allowed to join the UN global conference while hoping to seek international attention, as it hopes suspended climate projects will soon be resumed.

Esme Stallard
Climate reporter in Baku

Image source, Reuters

If you don't work in climate science, then methane is probably not something you think about very often.

But it is absolutely crucial to tackling global warming. Like carbon dioxide it is a greenhouse gas - but much more potent over the short term.

It is produced from farming, rotting waste and fossil fuel production., external

In a rare show of unity, the US and China this afternoon explained how they plan to tackle this "super polluter" together.

And they are going after fossil fuel companies.

We've already heard that there will be a fine in the US for companies that release this gas, but global satellite data will be used to track methane releases.

Environmental and human rights groups have long complained that some fossil fuel companies are able to hide their methane emissions, as it is difficult to measure.

But no more.

• Revealed: Huge gas flaring emissions never reported

Maura Ajak and Stephanie Stafford
BBC Eye, BBC World Service

It’s a long way from Baku to South Sudan, but we've been reporting from one of the world's poorest countries, described by UN agencies as on "the front line of climate change".

Devastating floods, which scientists say were worsened by climate change, began five years ago. By 2022, two-thirds of one state - Unity State - were submerged. An estimated 40% of it is still covered.

A camp for 140,000 displaced people is completely surrounded by water, protected only by earth dykes. In the nearby area, we filmed a man called Sunday and his wife Nyakuma, who told us they survived on aid rations and the roots of water lilies harvested from the flood water.Clean water is scarce.

And on top of this, a former oil engineer told us the floods are washing pollution from the country's oil industry "all over Unity State".

A recent study showed drought and extreme rainfall have surged globally in recent decades.

Our report from South Sudan is part of the new season of the World Service's Life at 50C series, which looks at water security in a warming world. The team have seen up close how factors such as pollution and conflict can compound the effects of climate change in some of the world's hottest and most vulnerable countries.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter in Baku

The COP venue has been absolutely packed today with people desperate for a glimpse of VIPs - it's standing room only for almost everyone. To get off their feet, the delegation for Burkina Faso sat at our TV live position.

They’re representing a country in West Africa that is ranked the 185th poorest country out of 193 nations.

Environment Minister Roger Baro had time for a quick chat with me about why his country needs more cash to tackle climate change.

Burkina Faso is seeing widespread drought, flash floods and disease outbreaks.

Like many poorer nations, they want more money to help carry out their climate action plan. Currently, just 13.1% of the country has access to electricity. They want to increase that, but need cash to do it.

I ask if they have any hope about the outcome of these talks. "A little bit," the delegation says.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter in Baku

Lots of people criticise these summits for being all talk, no action. I chatted with some youth activists who've travelled thousands of miles to be here. I asked them: why bother?

Neunje Patricia, 27, lives in Uganda and came to fight for women to be prioritised in climate action.

"Climate disasters are already happening at home," she says, adding that "sometimes there's no access to food, there is a lot of hunger, and girls are dropping out of school".

Developing countries want a lot more cash from richer nations, and Neunje says there should be a special fund to pay for climate action aimed at women.

"80% of the people displaced by climate disasters are women and children, external," she says.

Speaking about her journey here, Neunje says it took her 24 hours to travel from Kampala to Baku.

Esme Stallard
Climate reporter in Baku

Image source, Getty Images

If you speak to any delegate here about which world leader they want to hear speak, you would be hard pressed to find someone that didn't say Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

It is not just that her speeches are passionate - though they are - but she is a highly effective diplomat.

For the last few years she has been spearheading the work of developing countries to raise money for climate change.

She has witnessed how years of asking for grants from richer nations has got island states like hers nowhere.

Now she is trying a new tact, in her own words she wants to "transform the financial system", by coming up with new taxes, levies and mechanisms for raising money from the most polluting industries.

Many people in developing countries have seen her as changing the narrative on the issue of climate finance. Rather than being seen as victims by developed countries, they could now be seen as partners.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he is proud that his country has enhanced its economic performance while also decreasing its emissions.

"We cannot sacrifice our industry or agriculture in this process," he says, adding the world must continue advancing the green transition while also maintaining the use of natural gas, oil and nuclear energy.

He says the "price of climate change" should not be paid by farmers, and says governments should offer farms and businesses "practical support" rather than "impose unrealistic quotas or burdensome rules".

"All climate policies should be guided by careful consideration and common sense, not by ideology, alarmism or panic. Each should align with the opinion and interests of European citizens," he says.

He talks up his country's ambitions to reduce its emissions, but tells COP there is a need to "balance ambition with pragmatism".

Image source, PA Media

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had just three minutes to discuss the UK's response to climate change at COP29, here's what he said:

• He wants the UK to be "on the frontline" in addressing climate change
• He cited measures already taken including closing the UK's final coal power plant - the first G7 economy to do so - and launching Great British Energy, external
• Starmer confirmed the UK's target to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 81% on 1990 levels by 2035 - putting the UK "three months ahead" of its deadline
• He emphasised a focus on finance, stressing that the Labour government will honour a Conservative pledge to provide £11.6bn of climate finance between April 2021 and March 2026

Finance will be the first focus of the UK's forthcoming Global Clean Power Alliance, Starmer says.

His government will honour the commitment made by the previous Conservative government to provide £11.6bn of climate finance between April 2021 and March 2026, he says.

But Starmer tells COP that public finance must be a multiplier to unlock further private investment and "reform our international financial institutions".

Image source, Getty Images

Climate experts are weighing in following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's promise to cut emissions by 81% by 2035.

Here's what experts had to say:

Piers Forster, interim chair of the CCC, says the target is "very welcome", "feasible" and "will support jobs and investment", but warns the UK needs to see faster action on electric vehicles, heat pumps, and tree planting

Catherine Pettengell, executive director of Climate Action Network UK, describes the government's nationally determined contribution (NDC) target as a "signal of intent", but calls for more action for the UK to be seen as a "climate leader"

Rebecca Newsom, a senior political advisor at Greenpeace UK says Starmer's plan is "relatively ambitious" compared with other countries, "despite still falling short of the UK’s fair share"

Zahra Hdidou, a senior climate resilience specialist, says the UK is "setting a bold bar for climate action" but urges the government to "immediately drop fossil fuel subsidies, ditch the gimmicks, and urgently invest in renewable energy"

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Keir Starmer goes on to say he can confirm the UK's 2035 international target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81%.

By announcing the target at COP29, he is confirming the UK's target "three months ahead of the deadline".

The UK's prime minister starts his three-minute speech by saying the UK intends to stand "on the frontline" in addressing climate change.

To reflect this ambition, Keir Starmer cites the launch of Great British Energy, and closing UK's final coal power plant among other measures he has taken in the first 100 days of government.

Next up it's British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, follow live as we bring you the latest updates from his speech.

To hear more from what Starmer told COP a little earlier today, we have the key takeaways.