November 23, 2024, 6:56 p.m

Island nations vulnerable to climate change and some African countries have stormed out of COP29 in row over funding.

Climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, are on the verge of breaking down after they were extended after ending yesterday.

Representatives of a group of more than 77 countries vulnerable to climate change have left the talks.

They want $500 billion in funding each year to help them adapt and become resilient to the changing environment.

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But the final draft of a deal only reached $250 billion.

The proposal would be double the previous goal of $100 billion, but still falls some way short of the annual $1.3 billion that experts say is required.

Samoa’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is a representative of the group that walked out of the talks on Saturday.

Mr Schuster said: “We’re here to negotiate but we’ve walked out… at the moment we don’t feel we’re being heard there.”

He later said: “We would like nothing more than to continue to engage, but the process must be INCLUSIVE.

“If this cannot be the case, it will be very difficult for us to continue our engagement here at COP29.”

Evans Njewa, who chairs a group of more than 40 third world countries, said the offer is “unacceptable to us. We have to talk to other developing countries and decide what to do.”