Even as floods, extreme rains and extreme heatwaves continue to batter countries around the world, countries at the mid-year UN climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, failed to make concrete progress on the issue of the funds needed to address the climate crisis.
Climate finance is at the center of discussions in Bonn, where at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan in November, countries will have to agree on a new common quantitative goal (NCQG) – a new amount that developed countries will have to mobilize annually from 2025 onwards to support climate action in developing countries.
Mariana Paoli, international aid leader at Christian Aid, said it was “very disappointing” that fundraising talks in Bonn so far had not made progress.
“It is time for developed countries to step up their financial commitments to enable climate action in developing countries. Developed countries must provide new, additional and significant public financing to meet their climate goals. Paris Agreement Obligations“It is absurd that with less than six months to go until COP29 and after two years of negotiations, developed countries have still not indicated how much funding they are willing to commit,” she said.
In Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries committed to providing US$100 billion per year from 2020 onwards to developing countries to help mitigate and adapt to climate change.
But delays in achieving this goal have eroded trust between developed and developing countries and have been a constant source of contention in annual climate change negotiations.
A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that developed countries met their long-held promise of $100 billion per year in 2022. But only 69 percent of this was provided in the form of loans.
With global surface temperatures already 1.15°C warmer than the 1850-1900 average, climate scientists say countries need to take urgent action to cut heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions by at least 43% by 2030 (compared to 2019 levels) to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Developing countries argue that they cannot be expected to reduce carbon emissions faster without increased financial support from developed countries, which have historically shouldered the blame for climate change.
Developed countries are now expected to pony up more than $100 billion, while developing countries are calling for trillions of dollars to combat climate change.
In Bonn, countries are still trying to decide what should count as climate finance, what the total amount should be, who will pay over how many years, and who will receive the money.
“Northern hemisphere negotiators attending the Bonn Climate Summit risk undermining key outcomes from last year’s COP28. Developed countries are backtracking on their Dubai pledge to accelerate discussions on climate finance. Developed countries have consistently been unwilling to pay their fair share to tackle the climate crisis caused by their own emissions. This is simply unacceptable,” said Mohamed Adaw, director of Powershift Africa, a climate and energy think tank. “A new long-term climate finance target is a key issue at this year’s COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, but talks in Bonn have been progressing slowly. It is crucial that countries change course and prioritise this issue heading into the second week. Landing points need to be identified ahead of Baku. That is the purpose of the talks in Bonn and negotiators have work to do,” he said.
Issues:
Some developed countries, such as Norway, have said that big emitters and more powerful economies, such as China and oil-producing nations, which are considered developing countries under the Paris Agreement, should join the list of donors.
Developing countries, on the other hand, cite Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, which states that climate finance must flow from developed to developing countries.
Developed countries also want the money to go to those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as least developed countries and small island developing states, while developing countries say all countries are eligible for assistance.
Developing countries are also arguing for clarity on what constitutes climate finance. For example, development finance should not be counted as climate finance. They say this finance should not be provided in the form of loans, as has happened in the past, and should not be double-counted but added to development finance.
“Developed countries see climate finance as a new money-making opportunity. The OECD report is a preview of their approach. 69 percent of the money they provide is loans, and only a small portion of those are concessional loans. The money goes back to rich countries, who make huge profits. This is not the definition of climate finance.”
“They don’t want to agree to an official definition of climate finance, because for them it’s about creating new markets for companies. It’s about continuing the same hegemony of the financial system and the same colonial, extractive mindset that created the climate crisis in the first place,” said climate activist Harjeet Singh.