"Ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation": UN Climate Chief at COP29

Following another year of record-high global heat and extreme weather events, UN climate chief Simon Stiell told negotiators at COP29 in Baku that setting an ambitious new climate finance target is crucial for the well-being of all nations, including the wealthiest and most powerful.

“Let’s dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity;” runaway climate change is impacting “every single individual in the world one way or another,” Mr. Stiell said on Monday.

His strong call to action kicked off the latest round of UN climate talks, which will run in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku from today through next Friday, 22 November.

Officially the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP29 will see countries seek to establish a new annual climate financing target to replace the $100 billion pledge set in 2009, which expires at the end of the year and which many say is far less than what is required to cope with fast-rising air and sea temperatures.

Mr. Stiell underscored that the UNFCCC process “is the only place where we can address the rampant climate crisis, and to credibly hold each other to account to act on it. And we know this process is working. Because without it, humanity would be headed towards five degrees of global warming.”

‘No country is immune’

He gave stark examples of why a new deal on climate finance is so critical, saying that every country would pay a terrible price if at least two-thirds of the world's countries cannot afford to rapidly reduce their emissions.

Moreover, the entire world economy could collapse if countries are unable to strengthen their supply chains in the face of rising costs linked to climate shocks, such as falling water levels in the Panama Canal which had a dramatic impact on shipping volumes.

“I’m as frustrated as anyone that one single COP can’t deliver the full transformation that every nation needs… [but] it is here that Parties need to agree a way out of this mess. That’s why here in Baku, we must agree a new global climate finance goal.”

Mr. Stiell, who is the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, hails from Grenada, where his home island of Carriacou was nearly flattened by Hurricane Beryl this past July.

Speaking against a backdrop with images of the devastation, he told COP29 delegates that he was inspired by his neighbours, like an 85-year-old woman named Florence – and millions of others worldwide – who become victims of climate change “but get up over and over again”.

More than ‘a goal’

“But we cannot afford to continue up-ending lives and livelihoods in every nation – so let’s make this real,” he said, posing a series of simple questions to the delegates: Did they want their grocery and energy bills to rise even more; their countries to become economically uncompetitive? Did they want even further global instability, costing precious life? If the answer to any of those questions was “no”, then making a new climate finance deal was all the more important.

To that end, he called for robust reforms to the global financial system, which he believes is essential for nations to address climate impacts effectively.

Mr. Stiell wrapped up his remarks with a reminder of the historic importance of COP29. “We cannot leave Baku without a substantial outcome,” he said, challenging delegates to “stand and deliver.” He called on every nation to show that global cooperation is “rising to this moment” rather than faltering.

Hottest decade ever recorded

As COP29 opened, the UN weather agency, WMO, released its State of the Climate 2024 Update and issued a Red Alert on the rapid progression of climate change within a single generation, driven by rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The years 2015-2024 will mark the hottest decade on record, with an accelerating loss of glacial ice, rising sea levels, and heating oceans. Extreme weather is causing significant disruption to communities and economies worldwide.

From January to September 2024, the global mean surface air temperature was 1.54 °C (±0.13°C) above the pre-industrial average, amplified by a warming El Niño, according to an analysis of six international datasets used by the WMO.

“Climate catastrophe is battering health, deepening inequalities, hindering sustainable development, and shaking the foundations of peace. The most vulnerable are the hardest hit,” stated UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

What to watch for at COP29

• At what's being called the ‘climate finance COP’, representatives from all countries are expected to establish a new global climate finance target. This target, or new collective quantified goal (NCQG), is seen as one of the summit's main deliverables. It will replace the existing $100 billion goal that is due to expire in 2025.
• Parties are looking to take steps towards operationalizing the ‘loss and damage fund’ agreed at COP28 and seen as the key international fund that would address climate change’s unavoidable harms. It is unclear when the still-forming fund will launch and begin making payments, even though the Philippines has subsequently been chosen to host its Board.
• All countries are expected to submit new climate targets – nationally determined commitments (NDCs) – by February 2025, ensuring their commitments align with the level of emissions reductions necessary for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C and preventing some of the worst effects of climate change.
• Negotiators are looking to complete the guidelines necessary to fully operationalize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which permits nations to voluntarily cooperate on meeting emission reduction goals outlined in their NDCs. Among other things, Article 6 would allow them to exchange carbon credits produced by eliminating or cutting their greenhouse gas emissions, assisting other nations in achieving their climate targets.
• By submitting their first biennial transparency reports, mandated by the Paris accord to demonstrate how individual nations are addressing climate change, including their efforts to strengthen adaptation plans or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, countries are expected to increase transparency surrounding their national climate actions.

This was first published by UN News here.