“Azerbaijan’s COP29 President Urges Global Determination and Leadership on Climate Finance Goals”
Azerbaijan’s COP29 president, Mukhtar Babayev, has called for determination and leadership from all countries to bridge the gaps on finance at the latest climate talks in Baku. The discussions, which concluded on Thursday, saw little progress towards agreeing on a new climate finance goal to replace the current $100-billion-a-year target, casting doubt on the main expected outcome of the upcoming COP29 summit in November.
Negotiators convened in Azerbaijan for the final round of technical talks before COP29, following a stalemate on crucial issues during mid-year discussions in Bonn. One of the key challenges facing countries is defining critical aspects of the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for climate finance, including determining the “contributor base” and the amount of money to be mobilized, known as the “quantum.”
In response to the week’s talks, COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev acknowledged the progress made but expressed concerns about potentially falling short. He emphasized the need for determination and leadership from all parties to overcome the remaining divisions in this critical phase, warning that sticking to entrenched positions could leave too much ground to cover at COP29.
Civil society groups, including members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), expressed disappointment at the lack of preparation by delegations from wealthy governments. They highlighted the implications of the failure to reach a clear outcome, noting that developing countries face uncertainty in formulating their national climate plans (NDCs) due to the dependence on climate finance availability.
All countries are required to submit more ambitious NDCs with stronger emission reduction goals and climate change adaptation measures by February next year. However, sharp divisions persist over who should provide finance for vulnerable countries, with developing nations rejecting proposals to elicit contributions from high-emitting emerging economies and wealthy developing states.
The G77 group advocated for the inclusion of loss and damage finance in the NCQG and emphasized the importance of delivering funding through public finance in a grants-based or concessional manner. Developed countries maintained their stance on the involvement of some developing nations in financing the new goal, citing the changing global landscape since the inception of climate negotiations in 1992.
Climate finance experts criticized developed countries for their perceived lack of transparency and commitment to future climate finance, accusing them of acting in bad faith. With COP29 fast approaching, campaigners expressed concerns about the unresolved issues and urged developed countries to scale up their ambition and deliver their fair share of public finance through grants to avoid a weak outcome that could have devastating consequences for communities in the Global South.
As the world awaits the outcomes of COP29, the call for determination, leadership, and collaboration from all countries remains crucial in bridging the gaps on finance and advancing global efforts to address climate change.