As new challenges complicate global climate action, world leaders are converging in Azerbaijan for COP29 starting Nov. 11. That includes delegations from Middle Eastern countries with plenty at stake after the region played a starring role in climate negotiations the past two years. 

United Nations climate talks in Baku come after the last two COP summits were held in Egypt in 2022 and the United Arab Emirates in 2023. The latter memorably saw the Gulf power preside over a breakthrough global agreement by 198 nations to "transition away" from fossil fuels — the deal, dubbed the "UAE Consensus," could be tested at COP29.

The new scenery isn’t the only change, although the summit is also again being hosted by a major fossil fuel producer. COP29 arrives as the United States is set to retreat from the global climate conversation after Donald Trump won reelection as president on Nov. 5. The president-elect has already pledged to again pull out of the Paris Agreement. 

Trump will cast a shadow over the proceedings in Baku, while leaving a power vacuum that could be exploited by regional players as world leaders tackle a thorny subject: securing trillions of dollars needed to fuel climate action.