The UN’s climate chief has stated at the 29th annual UN Climate negotiations in Baku that climate finance is “not a charity.”The 29th annual UN Climate negotiations, featuring nearly 200 countries, are currently taking place in Azerbaijan.
United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell emphasized: “Let’s eliminate the notion that climate finance is just charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal serves the self-interest of every nation, including the richest and largest.”
“However, merely agreeing on a goal is insufficient. We need to intensify our efforts to reform the global financial system, providing countries the fiscal leeway they critically require.”
The main message that delegates will hear is that the climate crisis can only be mitigated from devastating economies—big and small—if all nations have the resources needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience.
The challenge involves securing over $1 trillion per year in easily accessible and affordable loans, grants, and various support mechanisms that can help poorer nations shield themselves, recover from climate disasters, and invest in transitioning to low or zero-carbon economies.
This $1 trillion annual request is among the largest ever made for financial support.
Nevertheless, Mr. Stiell remarked that this sum is merely a fraction of the costs that each nation will incur if the climate crisis is permitted to escalate unchecked, leading to increasing devastation of lives and livelihoods every single day.
Eamon Ryan will play a critical role in the discussions in Baku.
The Minister for the Environment, Eamon Ryan, has been entrusted by the COP29 Presidency with a vital role in identifying and eliminating obstacles that may hinder a comprehensive agreement.
The former Green Party leader has been appointed, alongside his ministerial counterpart from Costa Rica, Franz Tattenbach, to collaborate with negotiating countries and blocs, such as the Small Island Developing States and the EU, to uncover and address barriers to a final accord.
Mr. Ryan stated that achieving a climate finance agreement is a non-negotiable issue for the most vulnerable countries at the climate talks, asserting that developing nations seek fairness rather than handouts.
Read more: COP29: What is expected from talks as Azerbaijan awaits delegates?
The unprecedented climate finance framework under consideration at COP29 is referred to as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).
However, reaching a consensus on how much wealthier nations should contribute will prove challenging.
Furthermore, a significant debate is anticipated regarding the necessary changes to the global banking system to facilitate the climate finance that developing countries critically require.
