Rich countries act in bad faith, remain silent on future climate financing

Baku, September 12, 2024 – Parties to the United Nations climate negotiations ended their final technical meeting ahead of the COP29 climate summit in Baku in November with little progress on an agreed new climate finance target known as the NCQG.

Similarly, the Ad Hoc work program that is taking place also concluded in the same way with regard to the size of the new climate finance target or how it would respond to the needs of developing countries. This increases the risk that a new financial goal will not be achieved at the climate summit in November, where the goal is high on the agenda. Although this process started three years ago, the biggest questions remain unanswered due to a lack of constructive contributions from developed countries.

Civil society organizations expressed disappointment at the lack of preparation of the delegations from developed countries. The lack of a clear outcome also means that developing countries face uncertainty in drawing up their national climate plans, known as NDCs, because their ambition necessarily depends on the availability of climate finance.

Under the Paris Agreement, developed countries are required to provide financing to developing countries to ensure the achievement of the 1.5C target. Instead, they wanted to ensure that developing countries would also make contributions, as a way to avoid having to provide rich countries with their fair share of financing. Civil society representatives criticized the behavior of developed countries that emphasized the potential role of private finance while minimizing their own responsibilities, despite their obligations.

In a blow to the successful COP28 agreement on the establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund, developed countries refused to include Loss and Damage financing in the scope of the new financing target during this week’s talks. This threatens to make the Loss and Damage Fund an empty shell.

Now that this round of talks is over, civil society organizations are calling on developed countries to come to COP29 in good faith and be prepared to conclude agreements on climate finance. The credibility of the Paris Agreement and the basis of trust between countries are at stake if there is a lack of ambition in Baku on climate finance. What is needed is a commitment to provide trillions of dollars in adequate public support to developing countries, ambitious actions to reduce emissions, measures to adapt to climate change and build community resilience, and to to cope with the devastation of losses and damage caused by climate impacts, which are already being felt around the world.”

Quotes from civil society representatives in Baku:

“It is shameful how developed countries have undermined these financial negotiations. With less than two months to go until COP29, they should scale up their ambition and provide their fair share of government financing through grants. If we get a weak financial outcome at COP29, it will be their fault and will be devastating for the communities of the global south. It could also threaten the negotiations for COP30 as the NDCs will also depend on the available resources to be implemented.”
says Mariana Paoli, Global Advocacy Lead at Christian Aid.

“These conversations are a huge shame. The rich countries refuse to include targets for loss and damage in the new financial target. At the COP last year, everyone celebrated the agreement on the new loss and damage fund, but it now appears that there is no willingness to put serious amounts into the fund. It’s so disappointing and irresponsible. The need grows and grows, while natural disasters spread like wildfire around the world. Too little water, too much water; trees burning; hurricanes that strike. The fund must be there for the poorest countries, which have no chance to rebuild after the disasters.” said John Nordbo, senior climate advisor at CARE.

“I am appalled at how much of the Goal remains undecided after three years of process, due to the deception of developed countries. The key issue of the new goal, quantum, is something that developed countries have refused to address. that any mediocre offer from them would unite the developing countries against them. We are essentially on the eve of the COP, so many issues are being held hostage by developed countries. These countries are blatantly using issues of loss and damage to distort the situation. What many developed countries are essentially saying is that their differences with non-Western emerging economies are more important than their own immediate obligations to the world’s poorest countries. said Iskander Erzini Vernoit, director of the IMAL Initiative for Climate & Development.

“Climate finance is not about charity or generosity, it is about responsibility and justice. It is at the core of the international climate regime. If developed countries take climate action as seriously as they say, if they want everyone to be realistic, as they keep repeating, they need to start doing their fair share. Without adequate financing, including international support, plans will never be strong enough to truly combat climate change.” says Rebecca Thissen, Global Advocacy Lead for CAN International.

“Just weeks before COP29 and after three years of process and engagement, we don’t even have an idea of ​​what developed countries will bring to the table for the NCQG. All they have injected into the quantum discussion so far is a lofty reference to a vague global investment target without transparency and accountability, and without clarity on the extent of their public support commitments. This is no way to meet their ongoing obligations as historic polluters to help developing countries and the communities and people who already suffer disproportionately from the devastating effects of climate change! The lessons learned from the insufficient 100 billion target to replace the NCQG by 2025 require qualitative guardrails and targets for full impact, especially for gender-responsive climate finance, for a science- and needs-based quantum with public provision at the substantive core. means simplifying and improving access to and maximizing the reach of grant support, especially for adaptation and loss and damage, and above all ensuring that financed climate actions are rooted in upholding and promoting human rights by supporting the organization, the needs and priorities of those on the frontlines of climate change, in particular women and gender-diverse groups, children and youth, indigenous peoples, workers and people with disabilities,” said Liane Schalatek, Deputy Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, representing the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC).

“It is a crucial time for climate finance, and it is time for the Global North to pay up and get real. We keep hearing about mobilizing private financing without any evidence that this will ever happen or deliver. We need a global green industrial policy with massive public investments, including in workforce development, redeployment and social protection. And it is a minimum requirement that all governments commit to a just transition that is worker-led and responsive to all civil society, making human rights – including workers’ rights and social dialogue – a core element of the NCQG .” said Jeremy Anderson, director of Just Transition, International Transport Workers’ Federation, representing the Trade Union Constituency (TUNGO).

“After almost three years of dialogue and negotiation, we are still far from an agreement on some of the key aspects of the NCQG. No progress has been made in defining a quantum and in clarifying how this quantum will take into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. The role of public and grant-based financing also remains unclear, leaving developing countries with no assurance that sufficient public climate finance will be available to meet their needs, especially in the areas of adaptation and loss and damage. Guarantees that climate finance will be rights-based, locally led and take into account the important role of vulnerable communities and groups are seriously lacking. With so many open questions remaining, just weeks before COP29, we face the real possibility of a bad outcome that will threaten the survival of the Paris Agreement and erode any remaining confidence in the multilateral process.”
says Bertha Argueta, senior advisor for climate finance and development at Germanwatch.

“The main goal for children and youth during the session was to push for language around Indigenous rights, access, intergenerational burden sharing and fairness. Ensuring that the NCQG takes a rights-based approach, where marginalized communities, including children, youth and Indigenous peoples, have transparent, efficient and adequate access to grant-based financing is about justice. Money must flow to those who have the contextual and indigenous knowledge to ensure long-term viability for current and future generations. We are extremely disappointed to see that after three years of negotiations, developed countries are still unwilling to take responsibility and act in solidarity. It is imperative that the Global North commits to an NCQG that meets the needs and priorities of the Global South. The future and the burdens of generations to come depend on the decisions made today. Meaningful commitment and action towards a financial goal that is transparent, honest and fair-minded is the only way forward.” says Marguerita Delgado, international coordinator at Fridays For Future Spain, which represents YOUNGO.

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