COP29 ended in drama on Saturday 23 November, as the grossly inadequate new climate finance goal (NCQG) was gavelled through by the Presidency without allowing Parties to speak in objection. This puts at risk the credibility of the UN and further erodes trust in this crucial process for tackling the global existential threat of the climate crisis.
COP29: a disaster and a shambles
As Sky News reported:
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Of course, this is wholly inadequate – given not only the scale of the emergency but also the Global North’s obligations to the Global South.
So, the Canary got reactions to the lackluster COP29 climate finance goal deal from organisations on the frontline of the climate crisis in the Global South.
Catherine Pettengell, Executive Director of Climate Action Network UK (CAN-UK) said of the COP29 climate finance goal deal:
“This is a bad deal for countries and communities on the frontline of the climate emergency, and the manner of the gaveling through without Parties being given the opportunity to speak, erodes trust. Financing the necessary climate action has been neglected for many years, and now we are set to have another decade of inadequacy. This process is important, but it must deliver for people, nature, and climate. It must also be inclusive, transparent, and fair, and we must call it out when it falls short. Developing countries have been forced to accept half measures, COP after COP, but at COP29 these half measures push the costs of climate change onto the people least responsible but suffering the worst consequences.”
“We do not give up. The fight goes on. Developed countries must reflect on the fairness of this outcome and whether their actions have matched their rhetoric. They need to come to COP30 in Brazil to do better.”
Liz Cronin, CAFOD’s Climate Change Policy Lead said:
“COP29, lamentably, has fallen completely flat. This was meant to be the ‘Finance COP’ where developed countries finally stepped up to meet their historic financial responsibilities. Instead, we saw familiar Global North battlelines drawn and stuck to, with the usual suspects blocking real progress on grant-based, polluter-pays finance and the phase-out of coal, oil, and gas.
“If we are to stand a chance of keeping to the 1.5°C target, countries must urgently deliver new and enhanced national climate plans that can get us there.”
Ben Wilson, SCIAF Director of Public Engagement said:
“COP29 ended in a shambles. Developed countries have known for years that this was crunch time on climate finance, yet still came to Baku without their cheque books and without a plan. The deal reached is vastly inadequate and takes climate multilateralism to the brink, massively undermining trust and faith in the global climate action effort. What has happened here in Baku leaves the Paris Agreement held together by the finest of threads. All eyes are now on COP30 in Brazil to rebuild, and the mess of COP29 must be a shot in the arm for the powerful. At the moment it feels like our leaders are sleepwalking into a climate catastrophe; it’s time to wake up.”
Zahra Hdidou, Senior Climate Resilience Specialist at ActionAid UK, said of the COP29 climate finance goal deal:
“There’s no sugarcoating it: this text is a complete catastrophe and a farce. With floods and droughts tearing through the Global South, the goal announced remains a drop in the ocean compared to the trillions needed to help climate-hit communities adapt and recover, especially women and girls who are among the worst impacted.
“This failure is laid bare by the UK’s attempts to put a shine on a terrible deal – a far cry from its lofty claims of putting climate change at the heart of foreign policy only months ago. The $300 billion boils down to mere peanuts in actual grant-based financing for those most impacted, while absolving the richest countries of their fair share— piling even more debt onto climate-affected countries. This isn’t just a shortfall; it’s a betrayal of the Paris Agreement and the Global South it promised to support in confronting the climate crisis. Our fight to make the wealthiest pay up is far from over.”
Shruti Agarwal, Senior Adviser: Climate Change and Sustainable Economies from Save the Children said:
“We are deeply angered by the new COP29 climate finance goal… It has failed children, their families and communities bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. The new target figure of $300 billion a year by 2035 flies in the face of what is needed to tackle this emergency.
“COP29 was an opportunity for the Global North to step up, show ambition and rebuild trust with the Global South. This did not happen. While the UK made a positive move with its commitment to cut emissions by 81% by 2035, it also owns the collective failure of the entire conference to fully deliver a just and ambitious deal for children and their families on the frontline of the climate crisis.”
Maxwell, 15, a child campaigner from South Sudan with Save the Children at COP29 said:
“I feel bad… our leaders should do more. I know they have a lot to do but they should put us first. How will children in countries such as South Sudan and others survive or what is their future if they are not supported?
“I came from South Sudan to represent their voices, it will be bad for me to go home without any good news for the children.”
Sophie Powell, Chief of UK Advocacy at Christian Aid said:
“At this so-called ‘climate COP’, the rich countries have collectively failed to acknowledge their obligations to pay up what they owe to developing countries. Instead of coming with genuine openness to put grant-based finance on the table, which they know full well is the only way to support those worst hit by climate impacts, rich country governments have shirked their responsibilities yet again.
“The new UK government came into power with the promise to build trust and respectful partnerships with global South countries, and to provide climate leadership. But, respect requires action, so showing up to global climate finance talks without an offer on finance was not the way to go about this. The UK, like other rich country governments, could choose to raise climate finance by taxing the wealthiest and biggest polluters, at no cost to ordinary working people. But, on this vital issue of finance it chose business as usual over vision or leadership, leaving those on the frontline of the climate crisis to continue to bear the cost.”
Francesca Rhodes, Senior Advocacy and Policy Adviser, CARE International UK said:
“The outcome of COP29 is a brutal betrayal. The richest governments have failed to commit to the scale of finance needed, and are expecting already indebted countries to take on more debt to finance a crisis they didn’t cause. The world’s poorest people and communities are battling everyday with the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, especially women and girls who see their livelihoods and futures destroyed. This deal fails to respond to their urgent calls to provide grant based finance to halt catastrophic climate change. This COP also saw some governments attempt to rollback on gender equality and human rights in climate action – this is totally unacceptable and we must see a new Gender Action Plan agreed next year which is intersectional, inclusive, measurable, cohesive, and funded.”
Jamie Williams, Senior Policy Advisor, Islamic Relief Worldwide, said:
“COP29 has been a colossal moral failure. We needed a COP of compassion, solidarity and justice, but that spirit is completely missing and this outcome is heartless. Rich, high-polluting nations that caused the crisis have an ethical duty to help those who are suffering its consequences. But instead they’ve done everything they can to get out of their responsibilities.
“The amount agreed is far too low and slow. It’s less than a quarter of the $1.3 trillion needed and people whose lives and livelihoods are being destroyed can’t wait until 2035.
“We also see a big step backwards on commitments to phase out fossil fuels and keep global heating below 1.5 degrees, and far too much focus on private finance over public grants. Governments must not leave tackling the biggest crisis facing humanity to unaccountable corporations that will always put profits before people.”
COP29 climate finance goal: a death sentence for people in the Global South
Tracy Carty, Climate Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said of the COP29 climate finance goal deal:
“Bitter disappointment. $300 billion USD by 2035 is way too little, way too late. Developed countries came here with empty pockets and shamefully squeezed developing countries to agree. But this finance goal comes with no assurance that it will not be delivered through loans or private finance rather than the grant-based public finance developing countries desperately need.
“If developed countries are worried about what they can afford, let’s not forget the billions of dollars in profits the polluting oil and gas companies make and send them the bill. The fossil fuel industry has been spared any responsibility to pay and will be laughing all the way to the bank. One glimmer of hope is an agreement to develop a roadmap by COP30 for scaling up finance: this must be a roadmap for making polluters pay.”
Lesley Pories, Lead Policy Analyst for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance at WaterAid said:
“Failure to deliver on its most anticipated financial commitment at the so-called ‘Finance COP’ is nothing less than a death sentence for the millions on the climate frontlines. While experts touted needs around $1 trillion annually for the New Collective Quantified Goal, an agreement for $300 billion was reached – a mere fraction of the finance we all know is desperately needed.
“From hurricanes and flash flooding to wildfires and worsening drought, the global water crisis is a growing tragedy. And for those picking up the tab for a crisis they did so little to create, the NCQG was a defining opportunity for world leaders to rebalance the scales, ramp up adaptation finance and prioritise investment in water, sanitation and hygiene. Instead, COP29 has failed to set even the most basic targets for adaptation, turning what should have been a turning point for adaptation finance into a glaring example of climate injustice.
“Adapting to climate change is a matter for life or death for millions across the world and finance must be accelerated immediately to reflect this. It is deeply shameful that at COP29 governments could not set aside their differences for the sake of the most vulnerable.”
Featured image via the Canary
