Azerbaijan Urges World to Unite Over New Climate Finance Goal at COP29

Baku/New Delhi: Azerbaijan, which is hosting this year's UN climate conference, COP29, is under pressure to secure a new climate finance goal ahead of the deadline. The country's president, Mukhtar Babayev, has called on all nations to work together to resolve outstanding issues and agree on an ambitious new goal that addresses the urgent needs of developing countries to tackle climate change.

Addressing delegates at the opening ceremony of COP29 in Baku on Monday, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said a new climate finance goal was essential for every nation's self-interest. "Just agreeing to this might seem like the easy part, but trust me it’s not enough," he warned. He urged nations to reform the global financial system to make climate funding more accessible, affordable, and fair.

The COP29 negotiations have been marked by persistent opposition between developed and emerging economies over the amount of funding needed, contributors, types of projects eligible, and duration of the new goal.

Developing countries contend that unlike the existing USD 100 billion pledge agreed four years ago, the new goal should prioritize their needs and prioritize public finance over grants. Meanwhile, the European Union and US argue that wealthier nations like China, some Gulf states, and others within Annex II should also contribute more to the new goal.

Estimates indicate that developing countries may require trillions of dollars by 2030 to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The negotiations are complex, with many deep divides over almost every element of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), including project eligibility criteria and funding contributions.

UNFCCC has warned that failure to agree on a new climate finance goal could push the world towards catastrophic three-degree warming threshold, affecting billions of people worldwide.