As COP29 crosses its halfway point, climate groups link oil industry to Gaza war Distractions were bigger than deals in the first week of United Nations climate talks, leaving a lot to be done, especially on the main issue of money. With wars in the Middle East and Europe and Donald Trump's re-election, is COP29 being overlooked? FRANCE 24's William Hilderbrandt asked Daved Lehrer, from Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.