New climate finance goal is top priority for Baku deal: COP29 letter to Parties

In its first letter to all member countries of the UN Climate Convention, the COP29 Presidency headed by Mukhtar Babayev, called on members to enhance their climate plans to make them 1.5 degree C compliant and put in place finance to achieve those plans.

In its first letter to all member countries of the UN Climate Convention, the COP29 Presidency headed by Mukhtar Babayev, called on members to enhance their climate plans to make them 1.5 degree C compliant and put in place finance to achieve those plans.

COP29 is also scheduled to be held between November 11 and 22. (HT)

“The COP29 Presidency’s top negotiating priority is agreeing a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG) adequate to the urgency and scale of the problem, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing country Parties. Our efforts should include the full scope and potential of the resources that need to be made available,” the letter, sent to 198 countries on Wednesday states.

“Growing geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in the international environment must not distract us from the imperative to collaborate and address climate change as the greatest transnational challenge of the century,” it adds.

The COP29 Summit is being held in a year of elections. At least 64 countries plus European Union have held or are set to hold elections this year. Among them US will be key because historically it is the largest green house gas (GHG) polluter.

Donald Trump would ensure the United States withdraws out of the Paris climate agreement for the second time if he wins the presidency again in November, Politico reported on June 28. The US withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2019. US elections are scheduled to be held this November while COP29 is also scheduled to be held between November 11 and 22.

HT has reported that the primary agenda of the annual UN climate meeting to be held in Baku in Azerbaijan in November would be to negotiate a new goal for climate finance, which currently has a floor of a minimum of $100 billion every year after 2025, that is expected to help developing countries transition to a low-carbon future.

According to the High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, at least $2.4 trillion is needed every year to invest in renewable energy, adaptation, and other climate-related issues in developing countries, excluding China.

Negotiations on the new finance goal has been fraught with challenges and lack of consensus so far. Major differences emerged between rich and developing countries on who should contribute to the new quantified goal on climate finance, according to the Third World Network, an independent non-profit that was tracking the negotiations at Cartagena in Columbia in April. In an Ad Hoc Work Programme (AHWP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Cartagena in Colombia from April 23 to 26, the US said the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is “voluntary” for those that “choose to pay”, referring to Article 9.3 of the 2015 Paris climate pact that deals with climate finance.

The US repeated its stance on how contributing to the new fund, meant to replace the existing goal of $100 billion per year, should be voluntary again at the Bonn Climate Talks in June. The Arab group, Cuba and African nations have called for determining the quantum of the new goal.

India, in its submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in February said that developing countries need at least $ 1 trillion to transition: “In line with the needs of developing countries, developed countries need to provide at least USD 1 trillion per year, composed primarily of grants and concessional finance. With the availability of the updated Needs Determination Report, the quantum can be scaled up in proportion to the rise in the needs of developing countries.”

The COP29 Presidency on Wednesday also called on Parties to submit 1.5-aligned NDCs, also stating that Azerbaijan would lead by example, along with its COP28 and COP30 partners, the UAE and Brazil.

In an early step to intensify discussions, the COP29 Presidency announced that it has appointed Ministers Dan Jorgensen of Denmark and Yasmine Fouad of Egypt as ministerial pairs for the NCQG. These ministers will be additional focal points for the global negotiations and help to find common ground between countries.

“As the COP29 Presidency, we encourage all Parties to come forward with their own 1.5- aligned NDCs at the earliest opportunity and well ahead of the 10 February 2025 deadline. NDCs should be informed by the science and the Global Stocktake outcome, in light of different national circumstances and foster investment and support,” the letter states .

Another key issue that COP29 is likely to address is to mobilise funds for the Loss and Damage fund. “The first pledges to the Fund were welcome. However, significantly more will be needed to protect those who are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and respond to loss and damage, so we are calling for further pledges to the Fund. The COP29 Presidency also urges the different funds and financial mechanisms to increase their coordination to improve coherence and better address loss and damage,” the letter adds.

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