Pacific nations demand greater ambition despite COP29’s landmark $300 billion climate finance goal to address escalating global climate crises

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku Azerbaijan ended with a new finance goal to help countries protect their people and economies against climate change but Pacific countries are calling for more.

After two weeks of intensive negotiations and several years of preparatory work, and in a process that requires all nations to unanimously agree on every word of the text, COP29 agreed to triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of USD 100 billion annually, to USD 300 billion annually by 2035. Nearly 200 countries in Baku, Azerbaijan also agreed to secure efforts of all actors to work together to scale up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources to the amount of USD$1.3 trillion per year by 2035.

“This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country,” said the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell. “But like any insurance policy – it only works – if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept, to protect billions of lives.”

Pacific communities are amongst the most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, something they did not create. In the build up to COP29, Pacific countries advocated that the new finance goal must address the needs and priorities of each developing country.

A joint SIDS and LDCs submission called for a respective minimum allocation floor of at least USD$39 billion per year for SIDS and at least USD 220 billion per year for LDCs.

In response to the new goal announced by the COP Presidency, Samoa, as Chair of the 39-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is leading the charge to call for more, with Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster saying the overall finance goal of USD$ 300 billion should only be the start.

Minister Toeolesulusulu was amongst the last of the Pacific delegations left at the COP29 venue in Baku Azerbaijan early Sunday morning, when there was a frantic push by the COP29 Presidency to secure the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG). 

“On the overall finance goal, AOSIS is concerned over the lack of willingness to meet the needs of vulnerable developing countries. This new finance goal will only serve to kick start the implementation of our NDCs and NAPs,” Minister Toeolesulusulu said. 

“As we call for higher ambition on mitigation in the updated NDCs, it is paramount that we unlock more financing to ensure that NDCs are implemented in a timely manner. Time is not on our side. The need to implement ambitious NDCs is more urgent than ever. As is the need for effective adaptation measures and responses to loss and damage when adaptation hits its limits.”

But it wasn’t just the NCQG that SIDS are concerned about. There was disappointment expressed at the lack of progress over other key items including the Global Stocktake (GST), Mitigation Work Programme, Global Goal on Adaptation and Just Transition.

“On the GST, we arrived in Baku with a clear vision for the implementation of all GST outcomes we agreed upon in Dubai. It is disappointing that we have not made progress on this agenda item,” said Minister Toeolesulusulu.

“It is crucial that we find a way to move forward with the mitigation outcomes we agreed upon at COP28 and ensure that the outcomes of the first GST do not end up a broken forgotten promise further imperilling the vulnerable people of our countries and everywhere.”

The outcome of the Mitigation negotiations was described as “empty and low ambition.”

“As Parties we must implement the Dubai outcomes prioritising the transition to renewable energy sources and phasing out fossil fuels. High emitters must commit to deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. 

“Strengthening cooperation on finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building is essential, implementing targeted actions in key sectors to reduce emissions is crucial. The woeful lack of direction to achieve the necessary ambition to meet the 1.5C goal sets us back at a time when we should be accelerating our actions. The continued delay will cost us innocent lives and result in more suffering.”

On Just Transition, AOSIS has been calling for a just transition pathway which is fit for purpose that does not leave anyone behind.

“At this COP we transitioned this text to increasingly unjust and unacceptable versions that failed to underscore the importance of just transition pathways in our NDCs, NAPS and Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategies and further failed to establish the linkages from the outcomes of the first global stocktake relevant to just transitions,” the AOSIS Chair said. “We regret that our work here in this important area was in vain.”

But there was good news. COP29 reached an agreement on carbon markets – which several previous COPs had not been able to achieve. These agreements will help countries deliver their climate plans more quickly and cheaply and make faster progress in halving global emissions this decade, as required by science.

Pacific countries applauded the agreement. “We welcome the efforts by the COP President to close these negotiations and wrap the discussion here to enable us to fully unleash the potential and opportunities of market mechanisms,” said Minister Toeolesulusulu. “We further welcome the decision by the CMA at the start of this COP which allowed Parties to find a common ground on cooperative approaches under Article 6.4.”

More than 300 leaders, negotiators and officials from the Pacific were in Baku Azerbaijan to fight for the survival of Pacific communities who have been placed at the forefront of climate change impacts.

“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work to do,” said Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell. “The many other issues we need to progress may not be headlines but they are lifelines for billions of people. So, this is no time for victory laps, we need to set our sights and redouble our efforts on the road to Belem.”

COP30 will be held in Belem, Brazil, next year.

This story was originally published at SPREP on 27 November 2024, reposted via PACNEWS.