COP29 Climate Talks Conclude with $300 Bn Annual Pledge

Wealthy nations committed to providing a minimum of $300 billion each year to combat climate change as the UN climate negotiations concluded in a contentious manner early Sunday morning in Baku.

Developing countries, which had requested over $1 trillion in support, labeled the agreement as an “insult” and contended that it failed to deliver the essential resources needed to effectively tackle the complexities of the climate crisis.

Following two weeks of rigorous discussions, delegates at COP29, officially known as the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), reached an agreement to allocate this funding annually, with an overarching climate financing goal of achieving “at least $1.3 trillion by 2035.”

Additionally, countries reached consensus on the regulations for a UN-supported global carbon market. This market is designed to enable the trading of carbon credits, thereby encouraging nations to lower emissions and invest in environmentally sustainable initiatives.

These were among the significant issues addressed during the summit, which has been held at the expansive Baku Stadium in Azerbaijan since November 12, and extended into double overtime. Another key decision involved the continuation of a program focused on gender and climate change.

This summit was referred to as the ‘climate finance COP,’ with representatives from all nations aiming to establish a new, elevated climate finance target.

The new collective quantified goal (NCQG) will supersede the current $100 billion target, which is set to expire in 2025.

In the final days of COP29, negotiation teams from both developed and developing nations found themselves at an impasse regarding a conclusive agreement, with reports indicating that representatives from the least developed countries and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOIS) had exited the discussions.

In response to the results, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that while reaching an agreement at COP29 is crucial for maintaining the 1.5-degree limit, he had anticipated a more ambitious outcome regarding both financing and mitigation efforts to address the significant challenges ahead.

He further noted that this agreement serves as a foundation for future progress, stating that it must be fully honored and implemented in a timely manner.

He insisted that commitments need to be rapidly converted into financial resources, urging all nations to collaborate in order to achieve the upper limit of this new objective.

For numerous vulnerable countries, this agreement offers a ray of hope, contingent upon the swift realization of commitments. The Secretary-General reiterated the importance of transforming commitments into financial support, calling on all nations to unite in pursuit of the new financial target.