COP29: Poor countries want more than $250 billion

A new draft of a deal on cash to curb and adapt to climate change released Friday afternoon at the United Nations climate summit. 

The proposal came down from the top: the presidency of the climate talks – called COP29 – in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

Wealthy nations pledged $250 billion by 2035 to help poorer nations hit hardest by extreme weather events adapt to the challenges of climate change. 

A number of developing countries have already responded that they need far more to help them shift away from fossil fuels and adapt to a warming planet.

The strategy, outlined in a draft deal released at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, signaled that negotiators from nearly 200 nations were making progress toward a final agreement at the summit — even if it does not satisfy all parties.

The amount is more than double the previous goal of $100 billion a year set 15 years ago, but it’s less than a quarter of the number requested by developing nations struck hardest by extreme weather. 

But rich nations say the number is about the limit of what they can do, say it’s realistic and a stretch for democracies back home to stomach.

It struck a sour note for developing countries, which see conferences like this one as their biggest hope to pressure rich nations because they can’t attend meetings of the world’s biggest economies.

“Our expectations were low, but this is a slap in the face,” said Mohamed Adow, from Power Shift Africa. “No developing country will fall for this. They have angered and offended the developing world.”

COP29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister, said the presidency hopes to push countries to go higher than $250 billion, saying “it doesn't correspond to the our fair and ambitious goal. But we will continue to engage with the parties.”

Tina Stege, Marshall Islands' climate envoy, called the drafts “shameful.”

“It is incomprehensible that ... (we) receive only sympathy and no real action from wealthy nations,” she said.

Source: Agencies