Advancing climate finance goal a key task at COP29

The establishment of an ambitious climate financing commitment from developed economies to developing nations, which is the key task of the COP29 United Nations climate change conference, is in the interest of every country, including the wealthiest, a UN official has stressed.

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, made the remark on Monday, as he addressed the opening ceremony of the annual UN gathering, which will run through Nov 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The climate crisis is affecting every single individual in the world one way or another, and parties must agree on a new global climate finance target at COP29, he said.

Formally known as New Collective Quantified Goal, the target represents a post-2025 climate financing commitment from developed economies to developing nations.

If at least two-thirds of the countries around the world cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price, he said.

"No country is immune," he said. "So, let's dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and wealthiest."

But it's not enough to just agree on a goal, he said. The world must work harder to reform the global financial system, giving countries the fiscal space they so desperately need.

"Here in Baku, we must get international carbon markets up and running, by finalizing Article 6," he added.

Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change allows countries to voluntarily cooperate with each other to achieve emission reduction targets set out in their Nationally Determined Contributions. But parties have so far failed to agree upon all detailed rules for the article after years of negotiation.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Mukhtar Babayev, president of COP29, stressed enhancing ambition and enabling action as two pillars of Azerbaijan's plan for the UN climate gathering.

"This means setting out clear climate plans and delivering the finance we need. These two pillars are mutually reinforcing, each sending a strong signal to the other," he said.

The COP29 presidency's top priority is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal. The goal must be effective and adequate to the scale and urgency of the problem, and it must address the needs and priorities of developing countries, he stressed.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, president of COP28, which was held in the United Arab Emirates late last year, said the initiatives launched at COP28 have gathered real momentum and real pace.

The world, for example, is set to break another record of renewable energy growth this year, adding over 500 gigawatts to global capacity, as it forges ahead with the goal adopted at COP28 to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

"The consensus we achieved in Dubai was truly historic. Yet history will judge us by our actions, not by our words," he stressed.

Underscoring the pivotal role of climate finance in sustaining the global climate process, he said, "The critical success factor for all climate progress is finance."

He called on efforts from all sources, public and private, to make finance more available, more accessible and more affordable.

Echoing the slogan of COP29: "In Solidarity for a Green World", he said, "Let us focus on collaboration and partnership, and let us show the world that we have the determination to unite, the responsibility to act and the will to deliver."