Nations far apart in COP29 climate finance talks

A fresh draft of a UN climate deal released on Nov 13 offers wide-ranging options to raise funding for poorer countries, signaling that tough negotiations remain at the COP29 talks in Baku.

Landing a new agreement to boost money for climate action in developing countries is the top priority of negotiators at the summit in Azerbaijan.

But it is deeply contentious, and consensus has eluded negotiators from nearly 200 nations for the better part of a year.

Most developing countries favor an annual commitment from wealthy countries of at least US$1.3 trillion (S$1.7 trillion), according to the latest draft of the long-sought climate finance pact.

This figure is more than 10 times the US$100 billion annually that a small pool of developed countries - among them the United States, the European Union and Japan - currently pay.

Some donors are reluctant to promise large new amounts of public money from their budgets at a time when they face economic and political pressure at home.

“It is their responsibility to convince their electorate,” a key negotiator from a developing country told AFP.

An earlier version of the draft was rejected outright by developing countries, which considered the proposed terms weighted too heavily towards wealthy nations.

Three options

Fresh submissions were called, and the new document summarizes three broad positions.

The first argues that rich, industrialized nations most responsible for climate change to date pay from their budgets.

The second option calls for other countries to share the burden, a key demand of developed countries, while the third puts forward a mix of the two.

A bloc of least-developed nations, mostly from Africa, are asking for US$220 billion while small-island states at threat from rising seas want US$39 billion.

Brazil’s environment minister, Ms. Marina Silva, said “there is a convergence that these resources must be in the order of trillions” in public and private money.

Another Brazilian official, Mr. Andre Correa do Lago, criticized the negotiating tactics of richer nations.

“We think that the discussion was diverted by developed countries instead of responding as they should by the rules of negotiation that are taking place,” he told reporters.

Mr. Friederike Roder, of Global Citizen, a non-government organization, said the draft proposes “more concrete options” for an agreement on a total amount and “specific objectives” for the poorest and most vulnerable nations.

“Unfortunately, this search for precision stops there. The proposals aimed at clearly defining what constitutes climate finance, and ensuring close and transparent monitoring, remain insufficient,” she told AFP.

The latest 34-page draft reflects all the options on the table, said Mr. David Waskow, director at the World Resources Institute, a think-tank.

“Negotiators now need to work to boil it down to some key decisions for the ministers to wrestle with next week,” he said.

COP29 runs until Nov 22 but climate talks often run into overtime.