Almost 200 countries are striving to reach a consensus on a new global target for funding climate change efforts at this year’s U.N. COP29 climate summit in November in Baku, Azerbaijan. Preliminary discussions among nations’ climate negotiators, expected to wrap up on Thursday in Bonn, Germany, have exposed the divisions among governments concerning the allocation of financial responsibilities and the appropriate levels of contribution.
Climate finance refers to the financial assistance that wealthy nations offer to support less affluent countries in implementing initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to increasingly severe weather patterns caused by climate change.
Nearly a decade ago, developed countries committed to transferring $100 billion per year between 2020 and 2025 for these efforts. The challenge for negotiators at this year’s U.N. climate talks is to define a new target to substitute the $100 billion after 2025.
The Arab coalition, comprising nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, has suggested a U.N. goal of $1.1 trillion per year, with $441 billion originating directly from developed countries as grants. India, African nations, and small island states have also advocated for raising over $1 trillion annually, although opinions differ on the proportion that should come from government budgets.
Countries will also use COP29 as an opportunity to discuss ways to find new sources of funding as the world finds its public budgets stretched to their limits in the fight against global climate change.