A new draft of long-term climate finance proposals, called New Collective Quantitative Goals (NCQGs), was presented at COP29 on Thursday morning. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
A new draft of long-term climate finance proposals, called New Collective Quantitative Goals (NCQGs), was released at COP29 on Thursday morning after a grueling week of negotiations.
The draft did not include details on how much money it would be or whether the money would come in the form of grants or loans. However, there was a positive side: small island states and least developed countries were prioritized. The draft also includes a commitment to deliver climate adaptation in the form of subsidies.
“The African Group welcomes the new draft decision on the NCQG.
Streamlined. These 10 pages contain a number of principled positions from African countries.
Ali Mohamed, Kenya's special envoy for climate change and chair of the African Group of Negotiators, said: “The Group and other developing countries continue to include many of the unacceptable positions of developed countries in the text as options. “There are,” he said.
“The document does not specify the proposed mobilization targets or numbers for the payment components.”
Mr Mohammed said that although there was agreement between groups of countries, particularly the G77 and China, to target a mobilization target of $1.3 trillion per year, this was not included in the draft document and that “developed countries need to urgently address this issue. We need to work on it.”
The overall opinion is that without numbers on the table, writing about financial goals is of little use.
“While the new document correctly diagnoses the climate problem, including the financing needed for adaptation and the energy transition, it clearly omits what rich countries actually offer to developing countries,” said climate and energy think tank・Mohamed Addo, Director and Founder of Power, said: Shift Africa.
“The problem is the lack of specific numbers in the text. This is the “fiscal COP.'' We're here to talk about money. Money is measured in numbers. “I need a check, but all I have now is a blank piece of paper,” he said.
There are concerns that without numbers, we won't be able to get proper results.
Tasneem Essop, executive director of the International Climate Action Network, said: “We knew that developed countries were expected to arrive in Baku ready to agree on meaningful climate finance targets. continues to play games with people's lives on the front lines, manipulating and undermining these important negotiations.
“Developing countries should promote that funds based on public subsidies are prioritized by developed countries and that robust structures for oversight and accountability for the provision of these public funds are ensured. It's been 10 days and I'm still not at the start line. But the race is not over yet. There's still time to cross the finish line.”
During the plenary session convened by the COP Presidency to discuss the progress and latest revisions to the document, countries expressed disappointment with the document.
However, it also mentions grant funding and allows countries in the Global South to avoid debt instruments that they have sought through negotiations.
