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Climate lead shifts to Global South as rich nations show lost 'enthusiasm'

As COP30 opened, its president said high-income countries are retreating from their Paris Agreement climate obligations.

Heads of international organizations gather at COP30.
Heads of international organizations gather at COP30, left to right: WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres; UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan; and WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. (AN/©U.N. Climate Change/Kiara Worth)

The U.N. climate summit opened under a cloud of tension, with developing countries asserting leadership amid a pivot to Chinese-led green markets and the president of the talks accusing wealthy countries of indifference.

U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said on Monday the 2015 Paris Agreement helped bend the curve of emissions downward, but the world still "must move much, much, faster" to cut planet-warming emissions and strengthen climate resilience.

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