It’s all about the money, as COP 29 comes to its conclusion. Just how much will be provided by richer countries to help poorer nations transition to a greener economy and cope with the impacts of climate change.
The deal tabled on Friday afternoon, proposed wealthier countries give $250bn (£199bn) per year by 2035 to developing nations to help tackle climate change*. This is an improvement on the $100bn a year currently in place and it’s likely to worry finance ministers in rich countries. But it’s still much lower than the $1.3tn a year from public funds that poorer nations were after.
It all comes on what was meant to be the final day of UN climate talks, attended by nearly 200 countries in Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku. The latest ‘offer’ has brought fierce criticism from African countries and environmental campaigners who say the proposal in the latest draft doesn’t go far enough.
ActionAid UK senior climate specialist, Zahra Hdidhou, said it was an “alarming step back”, with the $250bn figure far short of the trillions needed to help the Global South adapt to the climate crisis.Oxfam International was similarly damning, accusing richer countries of boycotting climate justice by “refusing to pay up and putting only false solutions on the table”.
Meanwhile as the bargaining continues, the COP29 presidency says it will work to secure “the highest ambition outcome possible.” Maybe they will, in the past final COP sessions have often over-run and if it’s all about the money we can only hope that there will be more put on the table.
*That has since been raised to $300bn, as of Saturday lunchtime by wealthy nations in the EU, the UK, Australia and US, in exhange for changes to the draft text, The Guardian reports.