How much does cutting down on carbon emissions, by doing things like using public transport, walking or cycling to get to places, really save? COP29 was a good place to find out. Our team tracked their steps and calculated how much carbon they emitted -- and saved.

A gruelling last dash of a two-week marathon fight about how much money rich countries must pay poorer countries -- including South Africa -- to switch from coal-fired to solar and wind power, and to survive the destruction of floods and droughts, still lacks a crucial detail on the morning of its last day.

The actual amount. It has a special name: a new collective quantified goal.

COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, ends on Friday afternoon, 22 November 2024, but the about 200 countries at the world's largest annual climate talks are still poles apart, despite the COP organisers promising to announce an amount through the course of last night.

It goes like this. Wealthy countries are more industrialised than poorer nations, which means that, over two centuries (and some say more), they pumped considerably more harmful gases into the air than developing states. These gases have led to the Earth's atmosphere heating up, which, in turn, has led to more floods and droughts.

But now all countries live with the consequences of the way in which the Global North made money.

And, the Global...