 "What’s the controversial $300 billion COP29 climate deal? Why has it angered India, other developing nations?")
After marathon talks and many a difference, a funding deal was agreed upon at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in the early hours of Sunday. Developed nations forced an agreement promising to put together $300 billion a year from 2035 in climate finance.
The United Nations climate conference, which was supposed to end on Friday evening continued through early Sunday as negotiations spiralled. With countries on opposite ends of a massive chasm, tensions ran high as delegations tried to close the gap in expectations.
Finally, the deal was settled at $300 billion. While this is an improvement from the current contribution of $100 billion, the developing world is not pleased. India has rejected the agreement, calling the new amount “abysmally poor” and “paltry”.
While it appears as a huge settlement on paper, we take a look at the deal and why it has angered developing nations.
What is the finance deal struck at COP29?
After weeks of intense negotiations, delegates at COP29 agreed to provide additional funding to developing countries to fight and adapt to climate change. The wealthy nations , who are historic emitters, offered $300 billion a year by 2035, much less than what the developing world was hoping to receive.
Developing nations were asking for $1.3 trillion, which experts said was needed.
The agreement included a call for all parties to work together using “all public and private sources” to get closer to the $1.3 trillion per year goal by 2035. That means also pushing for international mega-banks, funded by taxpayer dollars, to help foot the bill. And it means, hopefully, that companies and private investors will follow suit on channelling cash toward climate action, reports The Associated Press (AP).
The agreement is also an important step toward helping countries on the receiving end create more ambitious targets to limit or cut emissions of heat-trapping gases that are due early next year. It’s part of the plan to keep cutting pollution with new targets every five years, which the world agreed to at the UN talks in Paris in 2015.
The Paris Agreement set the system to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The world is already at 1.3 degrees Celsius and carbon emissions continue to rise.
What will the money be used for?
The annual $300 billion will help developing nations prepare for a warming world and keep it from getting hotter. That includes paying for the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. Countries also need funds to build up the infrastructure needed to deploy technologies like wind and solar power on a large scale.
Communities that are hard-hit by extreme weather also want money to adapt and prepare for floods, typhoons, and fires. Funds could go toward improving farming practices to make them more resilient to weather extremes, building houses differently with storms in mind, helping people move from the hardest-hit areas and helping leaders improve emergency plans and aid in the wake of disasters.
Why was reaching the deal so difficult?
Nearly 200 countries were part of the COP29 conference in Baku and delegates struggled to agree on the climate funding plan for the next decade. Developing and small island nations staged a walkout as they felt sidelined and cited concerns that the fossil-fuel-producing nations were trying to weaken the deal.
While there was an increase in climate finance, the agreement was criticised by developing nations. Many felt that the sum of $300 billion is insufficient.
Why have India, other developing nations criticised the deal?
India has rejected the new $300 billion climate deal for the Global South, saying it was too little and too late.
In an unusually harsh statement, Indian negotiator Chandni Raina said, “India does not accept the goal proposal in its present form. The amount that is proposed to be mobilised is abysmally poor. It is a paltry sum. It is not something that will enable conducive climate action that is necessary for the survival of our country.”
Addressing the closing plenary of the summit, she pointed out that the Indian delegation was not allowed to speak before the deal was adopted. “I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document,” Raina, the Department of Economic Affairs Adviser said.
“$300 billion does not address the needs and priorities of developing countries. It is incompatible with the principle of CBDR (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities) and equity, regardless of the battle with the impact of climate change,” she added.
Raina was also displeased with the way the agreement was adopted and said the process was “stage-managed”.
Nigeria, Malawi and Bolivia are known to have joined India in rejecting the outcome at the climate summit, with Nigeria branding the deal a “joke”, reports Forbes. Ralph Regenvanu, envoy for small island nation Vanuatu, stated, “The dollar amounts pledged and the emissions reductions promised are not enough. They were never going to be enough. And even then, based on our experience with such pledges in the past, we know they will not be fulfilled.”
Delegations from small island states and the least developed nations walked out of one meeting, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored. The least developed countries (LDC) negotiating bloc, which represents 45 nations and 1.1 billion people, said Sunday’s deal destroyed three years of negotiations on the climate finance goal, reports Guardian.
“This has been casually dismissed,” an LDC statement said. “Despite exhaustive efforts to collaborate with key players, our pleas were met with indifference. This outright dismissal erodes the fragile trust that underpins these negotiations and mocks the spirit of global solidarity.”
Evans Njewa, a Malawian diplomat and chair of the Least Developed Countries bloc said, “This goal is not what we expected to get. After some years of discussions, it is not ambitious to us.”
Interestingly, China, the most powerful developing country and one of the world’s biggest emitters, remained mum, in a way giving its approval to the $300 billion sum.
What are developed nations saying?
Developed nations stood by the deal with some saying that they could not offer more money.
In a lengthy statement on X, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, “Yes, our agreement here tonight is not enough, due to resistance from a few… Those who have come here to prevent progress and prevent more climate justice and to weaken our multilateral UN system altogether, have failed – badly.”
“We won’t accept that the most vulnerable are left alone in their fight against the climate crisis. This is why for us, it was crystal clear: we had to open a new chapter on climate finance at #COP29. And yes, 300 billion Dollars is just a starting point,” she wrote in a long thread.
We won’t accept that the most vulnerable are left alone in their fight against the climate crisis. This is why for us, it was crystal clear: we had to open a new chapter on climate finance at #COP29. And yes, 300 billion Dollars is just a starting point. 1/6
— Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbockArchiv) November 24, 2024
The European Union hailed the deal as a “new era” in finance for poorer countries to fight global warming. “COP29 will be remembered as the start of a new era for climate finance,” said EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra.
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell acknowledged the difficult negotiations that led to the agreement but hailed the outcome as an insurance policy for humanity against global warming. “It has been a difficult journey, but we’ve delivered a deal,” Stiell said. “This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing and protect billions of lives.
“But like any insurance policy, it only works if the premiums are paid in full, and on time.”
With inputs from agencies
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