{"id":60059949,"date":"2024-11-13T17:29:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T17:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=opinion&p=60059949"},"modified":"2024-11-13T17:48:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T17:48:56","slug":"we-need-radical-action-on-climate-finance-at-cop29","status":"publish","type":"opinion","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/we-need-radical-action-on-climate-finance-at-cop29\/","title":{"rendered":"We need radical action on climate finance at COP29"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The notion that climate disasters only affect poor countries is now outdated. This month\u2019s historic flooding in Spain, soon after the havoc of hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, demonstrate that climate-related loss and damage does not discriminate between rich and poor. These events reinforce the urgent need for global<\/em> climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate finance is expected to dominate discussions at COP29, which began this week in Baku. There is some hope that bolder action will be agreed, although Donald Trump\u2019s election win has created huge uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Trump\u2019s first term, the US became the first nation in the world to announce its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (a decision reversed<\/a> by Joe Biden in 2021). Trump\u2019s second victory<\/a> is very likely to increase fossil fuel production, and he has also pledged to \u201crescind all unspent funds under the Inflation Reduction Act<\/a>\u2019\u2019. The act aims to create green jobs, reduce fossil fuel consumption and switch to clean energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres emphasised in his closing remarks<\/a> at COP28 in 2023: \u201cThe world cannot afford delays, indecision, or half-measures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A potential new path forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The past two decades have seen some progress in the realm of climate finance, but not enough. The Copenhagen Accord<\/a> of 2009 marked a pivotal moment, when industrialised countries pledged to increase overall climate change financing for poorer countries to USD 100 billion a year by 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question of how this pledge would be fulfilled was left unanswered. As a result, the methodology by which these industrialised countries have claimed to mobilise funds has drawn fierce criticism. The target was officially met in 2022 after a two-year delay<\/a>. This was called into question, however, after a Reuters<\/a> report revealed suspicious allocations of the cash. Large sums had been invested in coal plants, hotels, chocolate shops, a film and an airport expansion. This comes as little surprise, due to the lack of official guidelines in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, according to OECD reports<\/a>, USD 21.9 billion of the USD 115.9 billion in climate finance provided in 2022 was private sector cash. This makes it appear like a short-term fix, driven by profit and growth-oriented outcomes, rather than a human rights-based approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Under the Paris Agreement<\/a>, nations agreed to set a new climate finance target by 2025 \u2013 a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). This will be a decisive issue at COP29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NCQG is designed to respond to the inevitable harm that climate change inflicts on LDCs (Least Developed Countries) and SIDS (Small Island Developing States). The Solomon Islands, for example, is ravaged by cyclones every year and threatened by rising sea levels, which could erase its identity, history and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiations over the NCQG have been taking place for months. The key pillars<\/a> include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n