Delegates at COP29 has adopted $300 billion annually for vulnerable countries to curb the impacts of climate crisis.
The agreement was meant to provide momentum for international efforts to curb global warming in a year destined to be the hottest on record and which also provide $300 billion annually by 2035, marking a significant step toward addressing the climate crisis.
United Nations Climate Chief, Simon Stiell, acknowledged the difficult negotiations that led to the agreement but hailed the outcome as an insurance policy for humanity against global warming.
He said it has been a difficult journey, but a deal has been delivered. “This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing and protect billions of lives,” he said.
Stiell emphasized that like any insurance policy, it only works if the premiums are paid in full, and on time.”
Marshall Islands climate envoy, Tina Stege, said the summit cut to the heart of the debate over financial responsibility of industrialised countries, whose historic use of fossil fuels has caused the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions to compensate others for worsening damage from climate change.
“It also laid bare divisions between wealthy governments constrained by tight domestic budgets and developing nations reeling from costs of storms, floods and droughts.
“We are leaving with a small portion of the funding climate-vulnerable countries urgently need. It isn’t nearly enough, but it’s a start,”.
COP29 President, Mukhtar Babayev, announced the breakthrough deal, which sets a global objective to mobilize $1.3 trillion in climate finance for developing nations by 2035. This ambitious framework aims to bolster efforts in climate adaptation and mitigation, representing a substantial increase in funding commitments.
“The Baku Finance Goal represents the best possible deal we could reach.
“In a year of geopolitical fragmentation, many doubted Azerbaijan’s ability to lead. They doubted consensus could be achieved. Today, we have proven them wrong,” he said.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, reflected on a year marked by record-breaking temperatures and devastating climate disasters.
He emphasized the urgent need for action, highlighting the role of climate finance as a cornerstone of the agreement.
“Developing countries, swamped by debt, pummeled by disasters, and left behind in the renewables revolution, are in desperate need of funds,” he said.
“An agreement at COP29 was absolutely essential to keep the 1.5°C limit alive, and countries have delivered.”
Guterres expressed the need for greater ambition, “I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome on both finance and mitigation to meet the immense challenge we face.
He noted that the agreement provides a solid foundation. Commitments must quickly translate into cash, and all nations must work to ensure the high end of this goal is achieved.”
Guterres urged swift action on debt relief, concessional finance, and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks.
Building on COP28 agreements, the Guterres reiterated that the advanced efforts is to accelerate the global energy transition and phase out fossil fuels.
“The “end of the fossil fuel age is an economic inevitability.”
Nations, particularly G20 countries, were called upon to deliver economy-wide, 1.5°C-aligned NDCs ahead of COP30.
In his appeal to governments, Guterres emphasized the need to see the Baku agreement as a starting point for further action:
“New national plans must accelerate the shift to renewables while ensuring justice in the transition. The COP29 centered on the Paris Agreement, has once again shown it can navigate the most difficult issues.”
