BAKU: A series of leaked draft texts on the new climate finance goal, referred to as NCQG, is adding fuel to the fire as the developing countries are seeing it as provocative and an 'insult'.
The latest draft was leaked at 3 pm and the UNFCCC website said the closing plenary was scheduled for 6 pm. The quantum of finance was pegged at $300 billion, a meagre increase of $50 billion from the previous $250 billion.
Many argue that this falls drastically short of the support needed to address the escalating impacts of climate change, as laid out in Article 9 of the Paris Agreement. With the costs of mitigation and adaptation for developing nations projected between $5.1 and $6.8 trillion by 2030, the proposed funding remains a fraction of the required amount.
The text says developed countries should take the lead in scaling climate finance, setting a target of $300 billion annually by 2035. However, this goal is contingent on broader contributions from diverse public and private sources, including alternative financing channels. The framework further encourages voluntary contributions from developing countries themselves, including through South-South cooperation, to bridge the glaring gaps in climate funding.
Critics note that these measures, while symbolically inclusive, risk shifting responsibility back onto the countries already grappling with severe climate vulnerabilities.
The ongoing reliance on bilateral and multilateral channels, as highlighted, reveals systemic issues within the global climate finance architecture. High costs of capital, conditionalities, and inefficient disbursement mechanisms disproportionately burden developing countries, particularly least developed nations and small island states. These structural challenges call for comprehensive reforms, yet the modest financial commitments from developed nations signal a lack of urgency to address these systemic barriers effectively, said observers.
Moreover, the new finance goal appears disconnected from the urgency dictated by scientific findings and the catastrophic realities faced by many developing nations. The Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC stresses the critical need for scaled-up and accelerated climate financing. Despite this, the incremental increase to $300 billion reveals a troubling lack of ambition and risks undermining global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, they added.
Sources said COP29 was facing high risk of ‘no deal’ as some countries are contemplating a walk out. The plenary is expected to start at 6 pm.