Newly elected leaders to be held to same climate obligations, says Cop29 chief

Exclusive: Incoming UN summit president calls on governments to stay on track, as majority of global population go to the polls

• At Cop29 bridges must be built between the diverging north and south to keep 1.5C in reach

The governments that assume power after elections around the world this year will be held to the same climate obligations as their predecessors, the chief of this year’s UN climate summit has warned.

Cop29 will be held in Azerbaijan in November, near the end of a crucial year in which most of the global population – from the UK, the EU and the US to India and Russia – will head to the polls. The US presidential election, likely to be a bitter fight with climate a key issue, will be held on 5 November, with Cop29 to take place days later, from 11 to 22 November, in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.