UNFCCC Executive Director Simon Stiel speaks at the opening ceremony of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 11, 2024. COP29, to be held from November 11th to 22nd, will bring together stakeholders including international heads of state and other leaders, scientists, environmentalists, indigenous peoples representatives, activists, and others to engage in global action to alleviate global crises. discuss and agree on the implementation of appropriate measures. Impact of climate change. According to the United Nations, countries made no progress last year in reducing global emissions from burning fossil fuels. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Climate change is affecting everyone around the world and it is vital that new global finance targets for climate change are agreed, said Simon Steele, Executive Director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. said.
“If at least two-thirds of the world's countries cannot afford to cut their emissions quickly, no country will face a cruel You will pay a price.”
Climate finance will be a key focus at COP29, where countries will finalize conditions for new collective quantitative targets (NCQGs) or long-term climate finance.
South Africa and the African Group of Negotiators have set an ambitious target of $1.3 trillion a year that rich countries, which are also heavily polluted, must provide to developing countries from next year. This replaces an earlier promise of $100 billion a year, which was delivered only once in 2022.
Mr Steele said it was important not to think of climate finance as a charity.
“Ambitious new climate finance targets are entirely in the self-interest of all countries, including the largest and richest. But agreeing on targets is not enough. We need to improve the global financial system. “We must do more to reform and give countries the fiscal space they sorely need,” he said.
Brazil, South Africa, India and China called on the COP29 Presidency to highlight the issue of unfair trade policies by developed countries in the name of combating climate change.
“Parties must restrict trade and investment and create new green trade barriers, such as unilateral carbon border adjustment measures and due diligence obligations, that are inconsistent with multilateral rules and fundamental principles, under the pretext of addressing climate change. “We should jointly oppose any measures that would create a climate change policy and strengthen compliance with the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement,” the statement said.
The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) says the continent's needs must be a top priority at this year's conference.
“Adaptation and climate finance remain AGN’s top priorities in the run-up to COP29…The NCQG is committed to developing a We must respond to the evolving needs of countries,” AGN Chairman Muhammad Ali said before the COP. event.
The United Nations Environment Program's (UNEP) 2024 Adaptation Gap Report, which is expected to shape the debate on adaptation finance at the conference, states that African countries are not receiving the financial support the continent needs. There is.
“The wide gap between adaptation finance needs and financial flows means the world is failing to adapt to current impacts. We must adopt joint quantitative targets and pursue innovative approaches to mobilize additional financial resources, including by creating an enabling environment for public and private sector investment,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Inger. Andersen said in a statement. .
The report also highlighted that the world is off track in achieving the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which will wreak havoc on the planet.
“We must not let 1.5 get out of reach. And even as temperatures rise, we must get it back through implementation of the agreement. Investment in clean energy and infrastructure will reach $2 trillion in 2024. That's almost twice as much as fossil fuels,” Stiel said.
He said a transition to clean energy and climate resilience was needed and this needed to be accelerated at the COP, adding that a loss and damage fund had been agreed by negotiators at last year's meeting and that this would・He pointed out that it must be built through fiscal policy. Technical support.
This year's conference will introduce nationally determined contributions signed by countries to the Paris Agreement, the legally binding treaty on climate change, to reduce domestic emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The latest information on each country's efforts will also be announced.
