Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson has criticised the Vatican, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan for their behaviour at the Cop29 climate summit.
Mrs Robinson said the former three were blocking efforts to give women a greater say in responding to the climate crisis and in the use of climate finance.
She said Azerbaijan, which was still heavily wedded to oil and gas production, was “not an ideal country” to host the talks.
Mrs Robinson was attending the summit in Azerbaijan in her role as chair of The Elders, a network of former leaders who campaign on human rights and environmental issues..
Outside the negotiation rooms where the slow pace of progress has caused concern, the theme of Wednesday’s events was Gender Day with events highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate on women and girls in developing countries.
Money matters at the Cop29 climate talks
Mrs Robinson said several parties were trying to block initiatives under the Gender Action Plan.
“There’s a lot of dismay. Things are almost going backwards,” she said.
“The Vatican traditionally blocks quite a lot on gender. It’s known for that.
“Russia has been blocking a lot of things, I think for geopolitical reasons, but Saudi Arabia is the real blocker.”
Mrs Robinson said there was also concern about the wider negotiations which are aimed at ending fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing funding for poor countries to implement climate action plans.
“This is the middle of the Cop and I'm afraid people are a bit down because things aren’t moving very fast,” she said.
Mrs Robinson said the host country was not pushing the talks along like it should.
“Azerbaijan is not necessarily a very good venue. There are an extraordinary number of fossil fuel lobbyists here,” she said. “It influences the discussions.”
Mrs Robinson was among the number of high-profile climate champions who penned an open letter to the United Nations urging it to reform the Cop process.
“We do need reform of the Cop and the letter was intended to make the point that if you don’t have good leadership in a country that’s hosting a Cop, it’s not going to make much progress, and we’re seeing that here,” she said.
“This is not a great choice and the presidency is not stepping up.”
Developing countries need $1 trillion in annual climate finance from rich nations – a tenfold increase on the funds currently committed.
Mrs Robinson said an “absolute minimum” of $300 billion would have to be offered.
She said $2.4 trillion was spent on weapons last year and at least $1 trillion on fossil fuel subsidies.
“The money is there. We’re spending it in the wrong way,” she said.
Draft texts on the main issues under negotiation were due to be published by Thursday morning and UN chief Antonio Guterres is due to arrive to try to finalise a deal as the formal talks deadline looms at 6pm on Friday.
“I’m of the view that we will get a decision,” Mrs Robinson said. “The question is will the decision be enough?”