Public money “must be at the center” of new climate pact: UN's Stiell October 17, 2024

Developing countries least responsible for climate change need trillions of dollars to cut emissions and prepare for the future, but nations can't agree on how to raise the money.

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Public money “must be at the center” of new climate pact: UN's Stiell

The UN climate chief said on Thursday that money from rich countries “must be at the center” of a new agreement to increase funding for poorer nations to fight global warming.

The developing world needs trillions of dollars to help finance clean energy and prepare for climate change, but the world can't agree on how to raise the money.

It is hoped that nations will be able to resolve this at the UN's COP29 climate summit next month, despite disagreements over how much is needed, what is covered, who pays for it, and how.

The rich nations most responsible for global warming so far, such as the United States and the European Union, are obliged to pay and face pressure to increase their current commitment of $100 billion a year.

But they say they can't foot the bill alone and want others to help meet any “climate finance” targets that are agreed when nearly 200 nations gather for COP29 in Azerbaijan.

“It's not my job to predict what the new target will look like,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes the COP negotiations but does not influence their decisions.

“But it is clear that public funding must be at the center. As much of this funding as possible needs to be granted or concessional and must be more accessible to those who need it most.”

Developing countries - the bulk of the world in UNFCCC terms, from powerful emerging markets like China to low-lying island states - say that historic polluters are morally obliged to dig deep into their pockets.

They are also legally obliged, according to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, to take the lead in providing and mobilizing this money.

However, some donors are subject to financial and political constraints and have not accepted the requirement to commit large sums of new money from their budgets.

They want private investment to play a much bigger role and for China, the oil-rich Gulf countries, and other wealthy emerging markets to also help fill the pot.

Stiell said that who pays and how much could be resolved at COP29, “but we are not going there to renegotiate the Paris Agreement.”

Azerbaijan said on Monday that developing countries need trillions of dollars in climate finance, but a target of hundreds of billions in public money would be more “realistic.”

The hosts expect more than 100 heads of state and government to attend the two-week summit in their capital, Baku, which starts on November 11.

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