UN climate summit agrees to triple public finance to developing countries

Baku, Nov 24 (IANS) Despite objections by developing nations, including India, expressing dissatisfaction with the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) owing to its “paltry size”, the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan on Sunday announced the agreement of the Baku Finance Goal, a new commitment to channel $1.3 trillion of climate finance to the developing world by 2035 in significant uplift.

This includes a new core finance goal of $300 billion that triples the previous $100 billion target. There were breakthroughs in the Baku Finance Goal and UN carbon markets too.

The success of the COP29 Presidency’s top priority for the UN Climate Summit represents a significant uplift from the previous climate finance goal of $100 billion and will unlock a new wave of global investment.

They said the COP29 Presidency pushed an unjust climate finance decision.

They heard objections from India, Nigeria, Cuba, Bolivia, and least developed countries (LDCs), noted these comments, and then moved on.

In the closing plenary of the two-week summit, India rejected the adoption of the NCQG by saying, “We seek a much, much higher ambition from the developed countries.”

“Our estimate tells us we need to do $1.3 trillion by 2030, yet we have only $300 billion a year… It does not address the needs and priorities of developing countries,” Leena Nandan, Secretary with India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said, adding, “The goal is too little and too distant.”

Known formally as the New Collective Quantified on Climate Finance (NCQG), it was agreed upon after two weeks of intensive negotiations and several years of preparatory work, in a process that requires all nations to unanimously agree on every word of the agreement.

The new finance goal at COP29 builds on significant strides forward on global climate action at COP27, which agreed to a historic Loss and Damage Fund, and COP28, which delivered a global agreement to transition away from all fossil fuels in energy systems swiftly and fairly, triple renewable energy and boost climate resilience.

The Baku Finance Goal contains a core target for developed countries to take the lead on mobilising at least $300 billion per year for developing countries by 2035. This represents a $50 billion increase on the previous draft text and is the product of 48 hours of intensive diplomacy by the COP29 Presidency.

It pays special consideration to support the least developed countries and small island developing states, with provisions on accessibility and transparency.

“This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity,” remarked UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the close of COP29.

“But like any insurance policy — it only works — if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept, to protect billions of lives. This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing, helping all countries to share in its huge benefits: more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all.”

Alongside this, COP29 ended the decade-long wait for the conclusion of Article 6 negotiations on high-integrity carbon markets under the UN. Financial flows from compliant carbon markets could reach $1 trillion per year by 2050. They also have the potential to reduce the cost of implementing national climate plans by $250 billion per year.

When combined, the Baku Finance Goal and Article 6 will forever change the global climate finance architecture by redirecting investment to the developing world.

The Baku Finance Goal is the centerpiece of a package of agreements that deliver progress across all climate pillars. This includes getting the Fund for Loss and Damage up and running and ready to distribute money in 2025.

These breakthroughs follow months of intensive diplomacy by the Azerbaijani Presidency to deliver some of the most complex and controversial tasks in multilateral climate action. They mark a critical step in putting in place the means to deliver a pathway to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev said, “When the world came to Baku, people doubted that Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree. They were wrong on both counts. With this breakthrough, the Baku Finance Goal will turn billions into trillions over the next decade. We have secured a trebling of the core climate finance target for developing countries each year.”

Responding to outcomes, Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, told IANS, “At COP29, developed nations once again coerced developing countries into accepting a financial deal woefully inadequate to address the gravity of our global climate crisis.”

“The deal fails to provide the critical support required for developing countries to transition swiftly from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy systems, or to prepare for the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, leaving them severely under-resourced.”

“The outcome offers false hope to those already bearing the brunt of climate disasters and abandons vulnerable communities and nations, leaving them to face these immense challenges alone. We must persist in our fight, demanding a significant increase in financing and holding developed countries to account for delivering real, impactful actions.”

At COP29, a decision was made to ensure the full operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, long-awaited by developing countries, including small island states, least-developed countries, and African nations.

The establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund was agreed upon during COP27 held in Egypt. The fund aims to provide financial assistance to countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

During COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, a decision was made to launch the fund’s operations.

Important agreements were also reached at COP29 on transparent climate reporting and adaptation.

Stiell also acknowledged that the agreement reached in Baku did not meet all parties’ expectations, and substantially more work is still needed next year on several crucial issues.

“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work to do,” said Stiell.

“The many other issues we need to progress may not be headlines but they are lifelines for billions of people. So this is no time for victory laps, we need to set our sights and redouble our efforts on the road to Belem.”

The finance agreement at COP29 comes as stronger national climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) become due from all countries next year. These new climate plans must cover all greenhouse gases and all sectors, to keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit within reach.

COP29 saw two G20 countries — the UK and Brazil — signal clearly that they plan to ramp up climate action in their NDCs 3.0, because they are entirely in the interests of their economies and peoples.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

–IANS

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