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Talks have started to simmer to a gradual boil in Baku at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as negotiations towards a new climate finance target — the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) — trudge towards a finish line not yet in sight. With rumours of a figure of $200-300 billion in climate finance being peddled by the European Union and global media, developing country leaders convened a special press conference on November 20, facilitated by civil society groups.
Ambassador Adonia Ayebare representing the G77 and China bloc — the biggest bloc of developing countries — reminded all that they have laid out their demands for finance on day 1 of the conference. The G77 have asked for $1.3 trillion in annual climate finance flows, primarily in public finance from governments. However, developed countries have met this with a ‘radio silence’ and no detailed plans, he said. “It is imperative for developed countries to step up and meet the expectation set forth by developing nations who are on the frontline of the climate emergency,” he added.
Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s Climate Envoy represented the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) and echoed that no confirmation was received on the quantum demanded, despite there being a clear obligation for developed countries to give support to developing countries to meet the urgent and immediate needs of addressing climate change.
When asked about the $200 billion proposal that was floated from European colleagues — a figure far below the $1.3 trillion — Bolivia’s Diego Pacheco, representing the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), said, “Is it a joke?”.
“We don’t know where you are getting that $200 billion figure. The quantum that we are putting forward is nowhere near the figure being quoted here. The Adaptation Gap report put a figure of up to $400 billion on the gap for meeting adaptation needs in developing countries. That is why colleagues are asking if it is a joke. It cannot even respond to the gap on adaptation, let alone other needs,” Mohamed added.
“We need a figure in trillions, we need the $1.3 trillion figure as the headline of the text,” Ayebare said. On the much-debated issue of the contributor base of the climate finance target, he added that Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement is clear: finance is to flow from developed to developing countries, and the NCQG should not reopen the Paris Agreement. But they might be open to looking at another layer in the decision, of voluntary contributions from some developing countries.
“It is not true that there is no money, there is a lot of money. We need to reorient the money from the wars to solving the climate crisis,” Pacheco said, highlighting the importance of political will at this stage of the negotiations.