London | Natural resources such as oil and gas are “the gift of God” and countries should not be blamed for bringing them to market, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told world leaders as they gathered in his country for a summit on fighting climate change.

The host’s unconventional opening speech to the COP29 summit in Baku underscored the restive and uncertain mood among negotiators and activists from almost 200 countries, as they digest the potentially seismic impact on climate policy from Donald Trump’s forthcoming US presidency.