At the UN climate conference COP29 in Baku, after much debate, an agreement on climate finance was reached. The document calls on richer countries to provide $300 billion a year to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change and adopt cleaner technologies.
The United States and other rich countries have agreed to triple annual climate change financing by 2035. The end result, however, is a far cry from the $500 billion that developing countries have asked from rich states that have historically been the biggest polluters.
Wopke HoekstraClimate Commissioner of the European Commission, said that we are in very difficult geopolitical times and we should not be under the illusion that the situation will improve soon. He noted that reaching such an agreement is extraordinary.
“Last year I said that COP28 was the beginning of the end of fossil fuels. Now I want to add that COP29 will be remembered as the beginning of a new era of climate finance. The European Union and its Member States will continue to play a leading role.” – said the climate commissioner of the European Commission.
Hoekstra also added that although less was agreed upon than expected, the result was better than many had feared. But the negotiations were difficult: developing countries initially rejected the agreement document and left the negotiating room. Many states expected the annual amount to be at least $500 billion.
“I’m disappointed” – said the representative of Panama.
“This is definitely below the goal we have been fighting for for so long. We asked for 1.3 trillion, which is one percent of the world’s gross domestic product, but we received 300 billion. However, there were some important provisions in the final version of the law, so Panama approved the agreement.” – he added.
The Indian delegate stated that Mukhtar Babaevthe Azerbaijani official presiding over the conference ignored his request to make a statement before the end of the discussion.
“We are disappointed by the result, which clearly highlights the reluctance of developed countries to fulfill their obligations,” – saying Leena NandanSecretary, Ministry of Environment, India.
“India does not accept this proposal in its current form. “The goal is too small, it’s too far, 2035 is too far.” – he added.
The agreement signed in Baku covers only part of the costs that poor countries need to adapt to climate change and transition to clean energy. After 2030, the total could reach trillions of dollars a year, officials say. For the West, the deal means additional costs, but European budgets are already under pressure due to rising costs to support Ukraine.
At the same time, the 1992 agreement and the Paris Agreement establish that only developed countries should finance climate change. But those states are already facing difficulties in meeting the goal set in 2009 of spending $100 billion a year to combat climate change by 2020. Developed countries fulfilled this promise two years later, in 2022, by committing $115 billion for developing countries. Western states also pressured China, Saudi Arabia and other higher-income countries in the developing bloc to contribute as well.
