COP29: The climate funds math that needs to be reset, explained
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The 29th annual United Nations climate summit, COP29, started in Azerbaijan this week. Key on the agenda is devising a new roadmap to finance developing countries’ needs in their fight against climate damage.
The current $100-billion-a-year commitment made by advanced nations in 2015 to support them is set for an upgrade in 2025, making it critical to decide the path ahead. The need to set this “new collective quantified goal" (NCQG) by 2025 was part of the agreement struck at COP21 in Paris in 2015. The pact was that this goal would take into account “the needs and priorities" of developing countries—this wasn’t the case with the $100-billion annual figure.
The enhanced financial support would help developing countries strengthen their national climate plans, which, too, are due for an update in 2025. Some countries, including India, have called for advanced countries to provide around $1 trillion per year for this. According to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a needs-based approach would put the bill for developing countries at around $1.1 trillion in 2025, rising to $1.8 trillion by 2030.
At least 75% of this would need to come from rich countries, or 1.4% of their GDP in the first year, as per UNCTAD calculations. This figure is relatively lower than other major recent expenditures by developed countries. That makes it feasible—but will it be enough? The NCQG would also support climate adaptation—the component of climate action aimed at helping countries adjust to existing climate impacts.
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