Opinion Express view: Disappointment at CoP — developing countries left unheard

Like almost every CoP in the past decade, the 29th edition of the UNFCCC’s annual meet went into extra time. But this wasn’t enough to salvage the rapidly diminishing reputation of the UN climate agency’s processes. CoP 29 was billed as the “Finance Cop”. A well worked out deal could have gone a long way in resolving the impasse on climate funding. Before the delegates assembled at Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, a broad consensus seemed to have emerged that developing countries require at least $1.3 trillion every year to stave off the worst effects of global warming. Reports of the planet heating up beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the industrial era were expected to impart a sense of urgency to the deliberations. However, the CoP was a disappointment even when measured against the none too illustrious precedent of post-Paris UNFCCC meets. On the criteria of both equity and ambition, the $300 billion finance target pushed through at the last minute fails the developing countries.

On paper, the amount agreed to at Baku could be a seed fund to draw more investment and push climate finances towards the $1.3 trillion figure. However, history does not give much cause for optimism. Developed countries took over 10 years to meet the $100 billion target set at CoP 15 in 2009. Most of that money has come in loans, pushing several low-income countries towards vicious debt traps. In the run-up to Baku, the need for greater creativity in fund mobilisation was recognised even by the OECD. “For the post-2025 period, the scope and design of the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance must be more effective than the existing ones,” an OECD expert group pointed out in May. The Baku meet was expected to provide a road map for such an initiative. Instead, developed countries rallied to push through a watered-down target of $250 billion. An outcry by developing countries and civil society groups led only to a marginal scale-up in ambition.

Advertisement

The Global South has little time to lament the Baku betrayal. Initiatives like the New Delhi-stewarded International Solar Alliance (ISA) show its resolve. These, of course, are no substitute for UNFCCC-backed funding. However, with developed countries showing scarcely any inclination to loosen purse strings, initiatives like ISA assume added importance. Also, developing countries should come together at multilateral fora to pressure the West.