GG News Bureau
Baku, Azerbaijan, 11th Nov. Azerbaijan, host of the 29th UN Climate Summit (COP29), urged global leaders on Monday to urgently resolve critical issues surrounding a new climate finance goal, aimed at supporting developing countries in combating and adapting to climate change. The call was made by COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, who stressed that the world is on a dangerous path towards 3 degrees Celsius of warming, posing catastrophic risks for billions worldwide.
Babayev emphasized that the summit’s top priority is reaching consensus on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance, set to replace the previous USD 100 billion annual target agreed upon in 2009. He noted that the NCQG must be “effective and adequate” to meet the urgent needs of developing nations.
With just 12 days to finalize the agreement, Babayev called on countries to resolve disagreements on funding contributions and financial targets. Although negotiations have seen progress, significant gaps remain, particularly over the responsibilities of high-income, industrialized nations—known as Annex II countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These countries, which include the US, the UK, Japan, and EU members like Germany and France, are obligated to provide funding and technology to aid developing countries under the 1992 convention.
The debate, however, has been complicated by calls from developed nations, led by the EU and the US, for wealthier nations like China and Gulf states to contribute. These developed countries argue that the global economic landscape has changed significantly since the UNFCCC was adopted, and that emerging economies should also bear financial responsibility.
Developing countries, however, view this as an attempt to shift the burden away from those who historically profited from industrialization and are largely responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. They argue that expecting contributions from nations still grappling with poverty and insufficient infrastructure, especially under worsening climate conditions, disregards the principle of equity.
Babayev acknowledged the complexity of these discussions, emphasizing that inaction would carry far higher costs than the ambitious targets currently proposed. “Nothing has a greater impact on the security, prosperity, and well-being of all nations than climate change,” he added, calling for a united commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
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