Divergence on Paris Agreement Article 2.1c continues; Brazil points out developing countries’ needs not reflected
Negotiations at COP28. Photo: UNclimatechange / Flickr Negotiations on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance have been underway at the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In a series of informal consultations (discussions among country negotiators facilitated by chairs), Parties have dissected different iterations of a draft text on NCQG prepared by co-chairs. The text is a compilation of the progress on the climate finance goal and suggestions for the way forward over the last two years.
Discussions are underway on two broad themes: Procedural details for the modality of NCQG work in the coming year and details on substantive elements including timeframe, transparency, inclusivity, scope, etc.
Developing and developed countries seemed to converge on the need for a change in the modality of the work programme from technical to Party-driven negotiations in the coming year. This recommendation comes in light of the fact that, so far, discussions on the new climate finance goal have primarily been conducted through technical dialogues.
Brazil, on behalf of the G77, voiced discontent with the time frame options in the draft text that only relate the new goal’s temporal scope to mitigation efforts and global financial flows. The delegate stressed that the options for time-frames related to the new goal should account for interlinkages to adaptation and Loss and Damage as well.
The Brazilian delegate also added that the text in its present form does not reflect the call from developing countries to ensure the financial resources provided to them are predictable and additional. Further, the climate finance needs of developing countries amount to trillions of dollars, but this scale is not reflected in the text either, they added.
Colombia on behalf of the Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC), Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Arab Group, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (ABU), India on behalf of the Like Minded Developing Countries and China all expressed vocal support for Brazil’s intervention.
A point of contention among the developed and developing countries on the topic of climate finance has been Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement, which calls for all global finance flows to be ‘Paris aligned’ for contributing to the achievement of meeting climate goals.
The contention is that an undue focus on aligning finance flows with the Paris Agreement risks abdicating the responsibility of developed countries to provide finance to developing countries, a requirement that is detailed in its Article 9.
In the consultations, China has repeatedly called for the deletion of all portions of the draft text that directly call for or allude to the need to bring in the objectives of Article 2.1c into the NCQG discussions. India has echoed this sentiment, stating the topic of aligning global finance flows are already under consideration in different streams of COP28 processes. The Arab Group noted its ‘strong disagreement’ with inclusion of such language in the draft text as well.
Several developed countries, including New Zealand, Australia, the United States, European Union, Canada and the United Kingdom suggested the remaining discussions on NCQG at COP28 be carried out through ‘inf-infs’, —informal settings where delegates can converse on the many elements requiring further dialogue.
AILAC supported this; Egypt, on behalf of the Arab group, voiced reservations. The delegate stated that such a mode is suitable only when negotiations reach an impasse as a last resort of sorts. The delegate also stressed that if discussions moved to an informal setting at this stage, non-Party stakeholders, such as observers, would no longer be able to access the proceedings and follow the progress, hindering transparency.
On transparency arrangements for tracking the new goal, the main option considered at present is the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. While well received by some, discussions on more options have been called for. Additionally, China and India have been reiterating the need to operationalise an agreed-upon definition of climate finance as a priority.
On day 4 (December 3, 2023) of COP28, a high-level dialogue of ministers, experts, and high-level officers of the UNFCCC was held in Dubai, where various aspects of the NCQG were discussed.
With heightened climate impacts across the world, the need to arrive at an equitable decision on climate finance is urgent. The outcomes from COP28 will determine the momentum that is carried forward to the next year. A decision on the NCQG is to be reached before 2025.
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