The goal of COP29 climate summit at Baku in Azerbaijan went into Sunday overtime to pin down the developed countries to commit themselves to the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), where definite amounts to be contributed was to be fixed. It was evident that it had to be more than $1 trillion, which is 10 times more than the $100 billion committed by the developed countries at the Paris summit in 2015.
On Sunday, all that the developed countries were willing to commit was $300 billion, which is a hugely inadequate amount compared to the actual need of the developing and poorer countries to make the transition to a green economy. The anger and anguish of the developing countries was expressed candidly and vividly by the Indian representative Chandni Raina, when she told the closing session of the summit, “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.”
But United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell confessed to the hard negotiations that led to the agreement. He had to explain the tame deal which came at the end of the summit. He said, “It has been a difficult journey, but we’ve delivered a deal. 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 fully paid in full, and on time.” It should be remembered that the earlier commitment to contribute $100 billion annually was never kept except occasionally. The faint glimmer of hope of raising $1.3 trillion annually by 2025 was kept glimmering with the suggestion that the amount would be raised through means other governmental aid of developed countries, and that it would come from the public and private sources, and also through the effective activation of trade in carbon credits.
Outgoing American president Joe Biden was optimistic that this was a good if modest beginning. He said, “While there is still substantial work ahead of us to achieve our climate goals, today’s outcome puts us one significant step closer.
On behalf of the American people and future generations, we must continue to accelerate our work to keep a cleaner, safer, healthier planet within our grasp.”
It is indeed necessary to remain hopeful despite the deep disappointment at the outcome of the summit in Baku, but the challenge becomes even more difficult. Tina Stege, Marshall Islands climate envoy said, “We’re leaving with a small portion of the funding climate-vulnerable countries urgently need. It isn’t really enough, but it’s a start.”
It is indeed the case that even as the funds committed by the developed countries – $300 billion – are too small to meet the big challenge of coping with the climate change challenge, the efforts to curb the rise in global temperatures must continue through all the means possible. Climate scientists have warned that the temperature rise must be kept below 1.5 degrees Celsius below the pre-industrial levels, and crossing the red line would lead to an irreversible climate shift which would prove to be disastrous.
The failure to reach the desired goal of settling the financial funding needed from the developed countries would be a dampener on the decision reached at COP28 in Dubai in November 2023 where it was decided to move away from the fossil fuels. With inadequate funding, moving from the dependence on fossil fuels would prove to be more difficult than ever. The demand of the developed countries that developing countries should contribute to the climate fund, though it would be a voluntary effort, could become an alternative source to the challenge of moving towards a green-fuel economy.
