By James A Michel
VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov 19 2024 – Alongside climate finance, COP29 currently being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, was expected to serve as an important platform for nations to demonstrate their intention to submit stronger national climate commitments, strengthen adaptation efforts, and show tangible progress and action on previous pledges.

James A Michel

Halfway through the conference some key experts and leaders including UN Former Sec Gen and former Climate Chief , issued an open letter to the UN. —

Stating that, “The United Nations’ COP climate talks are ‘no longer fit for purpose’ and need an urgent overhaul.”

The UN’s climate talks have made significant progress in recent years, despite the fact that unanimous agreement is needed among almost 200 countries to take action.

The Paris climate agreement, signed in 2015, to keep that rise under 1.5C this century.

But are we on track to achieve these stated goals to save life on the planet?

Definitely not !

It is not a lack of resources which is holding it back but a lack of commitment. WWF (early in 2020) predicted that three of the four targets for 2020 would not be achieved, and one (on MPAs) only partially so. In another critical study it is stated that a failure to achieve this is due to the fact that 70 per cent of all countries had not by then met a single one.

More worrying, though, is the conclusion that, for many countries the ocean is simply not a priority.

It is no coincidence that of all the 17 goals, SDG 14 attracts the least funding; the shortfall to enable targets to be met is estimated to be close to $150 billion.

Small island states are a case in point, all of which are totally dependent on the surrounding ocean but which are invariably without sufficient funding to invest in improvements. The unifying factor, though, is not geography but economic performance, which can be evident in large as well as small countries.

Hampered by such obstacles as trade barriers, debt distress, food insecurity, climate change and meagre resources, the world’s poorest countries lagged furthest behind in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.*-

The basic contradiction, of course, is that getting to a state of sustainable development costs money – but if that is in short supply, how can everyone get there?

It follows from this that it is in the world’s interest to transfer funds from richer to poorer nations to make the changes that will benefit the world. Alas, the outcome of lengthy discussions and the various COPs have so far failed to offer any practical suggestions to achieve this. Words again, without action.

Therefore for now one has to go down the scale, to the level of individuals, communities and NGOs to find more promising ways to rescue the situation. The UN can be retained to add gravitas (given its record, an irony in itself) but the real energy for change will come from those who care most and are not shackled by endless rules and factional interests, and the financing of wars as a priority.

(The author served as the third President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016).

IPS UN Bureau

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By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Nov 19 2024 – Western financial policies have been squeezing economies worldwide. After being urged to borrow commercial finance heavily, developing countries now struggle with contractionary Western monetary policies.

Central banks
‘Unconventional monetary measures’ in the West helped offset the world economic slowdown after the 2008 global financial crisis.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Higher interest rates have worsened contractions, debt distress, and inequalities due to cost-push inflation triggered by ‘geopolitical’ supply disruptions.

Western central bank efforts have tried to check inflation by curbing demand and raising interest rates. Higher interest rates have worsened contractionary tendencies, exacerbating world stagnation.

Despite major supply-side disruptions and inappropriate policy responses since 2022, energy and food prices have not risen correspondingly. But interest rates have remained high, ostensibly to achieve the 2% inflation target.

Although it has no rigorous basis in either theory or experience, this 2% inflation target – arbitrarily set by the New Zealand Finance Minister in 1989 to realise his “2[%] by ’92” slogan – is still embraced by most rich nations’ monetary authorities!

For over three decades, ‘independent’ central banks have dogmatically pursued this monetary policy target. Once raised, Western central banks have not lowered interest rates, ostensibly because the inflation target has not been achieved.

Independent fiscal boards and other pressures for budgetary austerity in many countries have further reduced fiscal policy space, suppressing demand, investments, growth, jobs, and incomes in vicious cycles.

Debt crises
Before 2022, contractionary tendencies were mitigated by unconventional monetary policies. ‘Quantitative easing’ (QE) provided easy credit, leading to more financialization and indebtedness.

QE also made finance more readily available to the South until interest rates were increased in 2022. As interest rates rose, pressures for fiscal austerity mounted, ostensibly to improve public finances.

Policy space and options have declined, including efforts to undertake developmental and expansionary interventions. Less government spending capacity to act counter-cyclically has worsened economic stagnation.

Comparing the current situation with the 1980s is instructive. The eighties began with fiscal and debt crises, which caused Latin America to lose at least a decade of growth, while Africa was set back for almost a quarter century.

The situation is more dire now, as debt volumes are much higher, while government debt is increasingly from commercial sources. Debt resolution is also much more difficult due to the variety of creditors and loan conditions involved.

Different concerns
With full employment largely achieved with fiscal policy after the global financial crisis, US policymakers are less preoccupied with creating employment.

Meanwhile, the US’s ‘exorbitant privilege’ enables its Treasury to borrow from the rest of the world by selling bonds. Hence, the US Fed’s higher interest rates from 2022 have had contractionary effects worldwide.

As the European Central Bank (ECB) followed the Fed’s lead, concerted increases in Western interest rates attracted funds worldwide.

Western interest rates remained high until they turned around in August 2024. Developing countries have long paid huge premiums well above interest rates in the West.

However, higher interest rates due to US Fed and ECB policies caused funds to flow West, mainly fleeing low-income countries since 2022.

However, growth and job creation remain policy priorities worldwide, especially for governments in the Global South.

Protracted stagnation
Why has world stagnation been so protracted? Although urgently needed, multilateral cooperation is declining.

Meanwhile, international conflicts have been increasingly exacerbated by geopolitical considerations. Increased unilateral sanctions driven by geopolitics have also disrupted international economic relations.

Barack Obama’s ‘pivot to Asia’ started the new Cold War to isolate and surround China. National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic worsened supply-side disruptions.

Meanwhile, the weaponisation of economic policy against geopolitical enemies has been increasingly normalised, often contravening international treaties and agreements.

Such new forms of economic warfare include denying market access despite commitments made with the 1995 establishment of the World Trade Organization.

Trade liberalisation has been in reverse gear since rich nations’ protectionist responses to the 2008 global financial crisis. Globalisation’s promise that trade integration would ensure peace among economic partners was thus betrayed.

Since the first Trump presidency, geopolitical considerations have increasingly influenced foreign direct investments and international trade.

US and Japanese investors were urged to ‘reshore’ from China with limited success, but appeals to ‘friend-shore’ outside China have been more successful.

Property and contractual rights were long deemed almost sacred. However, geopolitically driven asset confiscations have spread quickly.

Financial warfare has also ended Russian access to SWIFT financial transaction facilities and the confiscation of Russian assets by NATO allies.

The Biden administration has extended such efforts by weaponizing US industrial policy to limit ‘enemy’ access to strategic technologies.

It forcibly relocated some Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation operations to the US, albeit with little success.

Canada’s protracted detention of 5G pioneer Huawei founder’s daughter – at US behest – highlighted the West’s growing technology war against China.

Unsurprisingly, inequalities – both intranational and international – continue to deepen. Two-thirds of overall income inequality is international, exacerbating the North-South divide.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Aishwarya Bajpai
BAKU, Nov 19 2024 – Mercury pollution from burning coal is contaminating our oceans and seafood, threatening global health.

Dr. Amina Schartup, a marine chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has spent nearly 20 years studying the mercury cycle. Her research sheds light on how this heavy metal, released through industrial activities like coal burning, affects ecosystems and people worldwide.

“Mercury is released into the environment through various industries, with coal burning being a major source,” she explains. The problem goes beyond carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as mercury travels globally, settling in places as remote as the Arctic and high mountains.

When mercury reaches the oceans, it is transformed by microbes into methylmercury, a highly toxic form. “This form accumulates in seafood, especially in larger predatory fish like tuna and swordfish, which many humans consume,” Schartup says. This poses serious health risks, including developmental issues in children and cardiovascular problems in adults.

How Widespread Is Mercury Exposure?

Fish consumption is the primary way mercury enters the human body. According to Schartup, “If 3 billion people rely on seafood, then 3 billion people are exposed to mercury through fish.”

The health impacts, however, are complex.

“Fish consumption is generally healthy, supporting brain development, but consuming too much fish with high mercury levels can offset those benefits,” she notes. This makes balancing seafood consumption tricky, especially for communities heavily dependent on it.

Mercury exposure is a chronic issue, with small amounts accumulating in the body over time. The toxic effects, especially on fetal development, can result in reduced IQ and other developmental problems.

Mercury and Climate Change: A Dangerous Mix

Climate change intensifies mercury’s impact on oceans and seafood. Schartup explains, “The mercury cycle is connected to the environment, so any changes—like rising temperatures or melting sea ice—will affect it.”

For instance, warming oceans change the behavior of fish and microbes. “Warmer waters can cause fish to eat more, which increases their mercury levels,” she says. Melting sea ice, which acts as a cap on the ocean, alters mercury exchange between the air and water. Freshwater inputs from melting glaciers or rivers also bring more mercury into the oceans.

These factors combine to make mercury levels in seafood even more unpredictable, creating additional challenges for public health.

Global Pollution, Local Consequences

One of the most alarming aspects of mercury pollution is its global reach. Once released into the atmosphere, mercury can travel thousands of miles before settling. “It can deposit in pristine areas like the Arctic, far from the emission sources,” Schartup explains.

Microbial activity in different environments determines where mercury is transformed into its toxic form. “It happens everywhere,” she says, emphasizing that no region is immune to this problem.

What Needs to Change?

At COP29, Schartup is advocating for a broader understanding of how emissions impact the environment and human health. “Climate change isn’t just about CO2. Burning coal also releases mercury, which contaminates fish and affects the health of millions,” she says.

Reducing coal usage could address both carbon and mercury pollution.

“By solving the CO2 crisis, we can tackle mercury contamination as well. This isn’t just about climate; it’s about health too,” she stresses.

Schartup believes this issue should resonate with everyone, especially those who eat fish regularly. “Turning on the light switch is linked to mercury in the fish we eat. It’s all connected,” she explains.

Protecting Vulnerable Communities

Some populations are more affected than others, particularly those relying heavily on seafood. These communities face a double burden: the health risks from mercury and the challenges of adapting to climate change.

Schartup emphasizes the need for policies to protect these vulnerable groups. Reducing coal emissions and investing in cleaner energy sources could lessen mercury pollution and its far-reaching effects.

A Call to Action

Mercury pollution is a hidden crisis, but its effects on human health and the environment are profound. Schartup’s research underscores the urgency of addressing this issue as part of global climate action.

“We have a chance to solve multiple problems at once,” she says. Reducing coal emissions won’t just cut CO2; it will also protect our oceans, seafood, and health.

This interconnected approach, she believes, is key to creating a sustainable future for all.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 19 2024 – Over the past week, the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti and extended efforts by the Haitian National Police has led to local gangs ramping up their offensives in order to hold onto their territories. Humanitarian organizations fear that displacement will skyrocket without more efficient security controls and relief responses.

According to a report from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, gangs are predicted to control over 85 percent of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and most populous city. This has led to the city being isolated from the rest of the nation, severely disrupting communications and critical supply chains.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that as of November 15, over 20,000 civilians had been displaced due to gang violence over the course of 4 days. They added that due to targeted attacks on airports and seaports, as well as unsafe roads due to gang occupancy, that Port-Au-Prince is in a state of “near-total paralysis”.

The most vulnerable populations in displaced communities are expected to be hit the hardest by the isolation of Port-Au-Prince. Humanitarian aid efforts have faced increasingly restrictive impediments, leading to a critical lack of resources.

IOM’s Chief in Haiti, Grégoire Goodstein, has confirmed that only one fifth of Port-Au-Prince is accessible at this time. Goodstein adds: “the isolation of Port-au-Prince is amplifying an already dire humanitarian situation. Our ability to deliver aid is stretched to its limits. Without immediate international support, the suffering will worsen exponentially”.

Nationwide hunger has reached a new peak in the past three months. The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that approximately 5.4 million people, or 50 percent of the population, face acute food insecurity. According to figures from the Global Hunger Index, approximately 22 percent of children face adverse health effects from malnutrition, with roughly 5.6 percent of children dying before the age of 5.

The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) reports that 2024 marks the most violence observed in over two years, with over 2,500 people being killed as a result of gang violence. On November 14, armed groups attacked the Solino neighborhood in Port-Au-Prince, which is one of the few areas that has evaded gang control. Gunfire between the national police and the Viv Ansamn gang forced families in the area to flee.

Jean-Jean Pierre, a resident in the Solino neighborhood, recalled fleeing from the area with hordes of other civilians. “We barely made it out. I’ve lived here 40 years of my life and I’ve never seen it this bad. These gangs are more powerful than the police,” Pierre informed reporters.

Gender-based violence has also risen in the final quarter of the year. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said sexual violence in Haiti “is pervasive and very likely to have reached levels not seen before”. According to IOM, sexual violence has been used as a weapon of terror by gangs, disproportionally targeting women and children. Additionally, 94 percent of women and girls faced heightened risks of sexual violence.

In a press release from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Michelle Strucke, the director of the CSIS Humanitarian Agenda, reports that there has been a 49 percent increase in sexual violence on girls and women recorded in 2024. Due to the scale of power that gangs possess in the Port-Au-Prince and Artibonite River regions, where sexual abuse cases are most concentrated, perpetrators receive widespread impunity, essentially preventing victims from acquiring any form of justice.

The MSS mission in Haiti has drawn considerable backlash from humanitarian organizations and Haitian citizens due to its inefficacy in dispensing of gang violence. Due to the mission being severely underfunded, response efforts have been greatly outmatched by gangs, which have increased their brutality since the deployment of this mission.

“It’s not back to where we started — it’s worse. More areas have been taken by gangs, more people had to leave and flee their homes and are homeless. It’s not any better,” said Sister Paésie Philippe, a French nun residing in Cité Soleil, Port-Au-Prince.

Although U.S. ambassador to Haiti Dennis B. Hankins confirmed that the U.S. Embassy has been in communications with the gangs in an effort to promote security, he remarked that they “certainly do not negotiate with gangs.” Experts have opined that the contingent mission’s failure to act effectively in this crisis has emboldened Haitian gangs to re-emerge and escalate the brutality of their attacks.

“I think they are essentially trying to get power or at least negotiate to get power. Ultimately, if the situation deteriorates further, they’ll be in a position to negotiate, whether you like it or not,” said Robert Fatton Jr., a professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia.

The United Nations has pledged that the MSS mission would continue to receive funding as it extends the MSS mission’s deployment in Haiti for another year and enlists a 2,500 officer-strong force. However, with only a small percentage of the 600 million dollars required to enlist such a force, along with uncertainty that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will voluntarily allocate U.S. funds to Haiti, it is difficult to predict if the mission will achieve any kind of progress in eradicating gang violence.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Aishwarya Bajpai
BAKU, Nov 19 2024 – In the face of a growing climate crisis, the connection between housing and environmental sustainability is becoming increasingly urgent.

Habitat for Humanity International, a global nonprofit operating in over 70 countries since the 1970s, is at the forefront of this challenge.

By providing housing solutions for low-income families, the organization is tackling the twin imperatives of ensuring adequate shelter and addressing climate change.

Puja Sawhney, a Habitat for Humanity representative advocating for affordable and climate-resilient houses at COP29. Credit: Aishwarya Bajpai/IPS

Housing as a Climate Priority

The housing sector contributes to 21 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it a significant factor in climate change discussions.

Habitat for Humanity recognizes the dual need for mitigation—reducing emissions—and adaptation—building resilience to climate impacts.

“We want to build houses that are resilient to climate change,” said Puja Sawhney, a Habitat representative. “We don’t want houses that get washed away the next year.”

To achieve this, the organization focuses on sustainable construction practices and innovative designs.

A noteworthy example is their successful use of 3D-printed housing technology in India, which demonstrates the potential for scalable, climate-smart solutions.

Empowering Communities

Central to Habitat for Humanity’s mission is community empowerment.

Through its Global Village volunteer program, the organization invites individuals from across the globe to help physically build homes.

This hands-on initiative provides volunteers with firsthand insight into the housing challenges faced by low-income families, fostering a deeper understanding of local communities and their unique vulnerabilities.

In addition to physical construction, the organization works to build the climate resilience of the communities it serves. ‘We raise awareness about the importance of tackling climate change,’ the representative explained.

This involves educating families on sustainable practices and advocating for housing policies that prioritize climate adaptation.

Finance as a Catalyst For Change

At COP29, Habitat for Humanity emphasized the critical role of finance in advancing its work.

Climate finance is essential for greening the housing sector’s supply chain, building capacity and awareness, and ensuring that homes are both adequate and affordable. However, the challenge lies in balancing sustainability with affordability.

“For low- and middle-income households and developing countries overall, the technologies needed for sustainable housing are often prohibitively expensive,” Sawhney noted.

While the organization has piloted net-zero homes in the U.S., such advancements remain out of reach for many of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

To bridge this gap, Habitat for Humanity is advocating for the inclusion of housing as a priority sector in climate negotiations. “There’s not much conversation around the housing sector.’

Sawhney pointed out. “It’s very important to have housing included as a major contributor to the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).”

By securing financing mechanisms and policy attention, the organization hopes to drive innovation and accessibility in sustainable housing solutions.

A Path Forward

With the right financing and global collaboration, Habitat for Humanity is proving that housing can be both a fundamental right and a key pillar in the fight against climate change.

In their words, “It’s not just about providing a roof over someone’s head—it’s about building a future where communities can thrive in the face of a changing climate.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Alice Wairimu Nderitu and Romeo Dallaire
NEW YORK, Nov 19 2024 – Last April, we commemorated the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. At the Rwandan capital, Kigali, at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, and across the world, we remembered the immense suffering this genocide caused on so many innocent civilians, who were targeted because of their identity, because of who they were.

In honoring them, we also renewed our commitment for the prevention of genocide, the gravest of crimes, the crime of crimes. We did so by reiterating that genocide does not happen overnight and that this crime is the result of a process which unfolds well before the actual killing starts. In Rwanda, the murder of thousands of innocent civilians took place in a very short period of time.

The alarm was raised, yet genocide happened. This shocked the world and raised the unavoidable question of what we could have collectively done to prevent this horror from happening in the first place.

At the same time, the conditions which facilitated this terrible tragedy were a long time in the making. Dehumanization of a specific group had been taking place well before the genocide took place.

Hate speech and incitement to violence found fertile ground in those terrible days of April 1994. The prevalence of genocide ideology preceded, and fueled, the commission of the acts of genocide. Commemorating this genocide and honoring the victims also meant remembering that genocide is a process, that there are risk factors and indicators for this crime, and that it is essential to act when they are present in order to prevent the worst possible outcome.

Accountability for past violations constitutes an important mitigating measure. Justice is essential not only for the cause of justice itself, to bring solace to the friends and relatives of those who perished, but also for reconciliation, for moving forward in peace, for building a future in which such crimes cannot be committed again. For the prevention of future crimes.

Yet, today, more than 1,000 fugitive génocidaires from Rwanda are still at large, despite existing indictments and international arrest warrants in place. This is according to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the IRMCT, which has carried forward the work of bringing international accountability to the horrible crimes committed in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) concluded its work in 2015

Let us underline this in no unequivocal way: More than thirty years after those tragic events, which were caused by specific individuals, with specific and vicious aims, and with strong allegations of an intent to destroy an entire group from the face of the Earth, more than 1,000 of those individuals, indicted by an impartial and independent court of justice for allegations of commission of the crime of genocide, are not finding their day in court.

Many are enjoying spaces of immunity that allow them to remain at large. Spaces where past acts of genocide may be denied. Spaces such denial is being promoted. Today, there are States that are hosting alleged génocidaires. This is unacceptable.

States must ensure that there is no space for such impunity. In a world community where the global commitment to prevent genocide is reiterated each 9 December, when we mark the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide, there cannot be space for impunity being facilitated by States unwilling to take the necessary action for justice to prevail.

The space for impunity must shrink and the space for accountability must widen. States in which alleged perpetrators are found must prosecute or extradite them without delay. States in which individuals indicted by the ICTR are present must take active and immediate steps to ensure that those individuals can be brought to justice without further delay.

For this, the ball is in the court of national jurisdictions. Many are leading by example and are taking the right steps and playing a leading role, not only in bringing perpetrators to justice, but also in actively seeking the assistance they need to ensure that all evidence is taken into account. To this day, the IRMCT has been providing assistance to national jurisdictions in response to specific requests for assistance in no small amount.

In the last two years alone, in relation to Rwanda, the residual mechanism has assisted 10 different Member States, handing over 5,000 documents and facilitating the participation of 69 witnesses in national proceedings and providing investigative plans. In June, just two months after the official commemorations of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the United Nations Security Council heard from the President and the Prosecutor of the IRMCT, Judge Santana and Prosecutor Brammertz, on the important progress made by the IRMCT over its almost 15 years of existence in continuation of the justice work not only by the ICTR but also by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Thanks to this, it has been possible to complete the work initiated by the ICTR and the ICTY and account for all 253 persons indicted by these Tribunals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. These are the gravest international violations. These are crimes that target civilian populations explicitly. In the case of genocide, for targeting a specific, protected group with the intention to destroy the group in whole or in part. We reiterate: for wanting to erase a national, ethnical, racial or religious group from the face of the Earth.

But more action is needed. Justice has not been fully met. Full accountability has not been achieved. In Rwanda, the country itself walked the talk of healing and reconciliation with efforts at the community level to bring people together. This includes through the gacaca courts, which became an example of effective transitional justice mechanism and a model for the world.

But as long as fugitives remain at large, the scar of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi will continue bleeding. The entirety of the international community has a responsibility to ensure that all perpetrators are brought to account.

Of course, nothing can return those who were killed to their families, their friends and relatives. But justice and accountability can help bring closure to survivors and can reassure them that their suffering is and will be recognized, and their sacrifice is and will be honored.

Only when all perpetrators have been held into account, we will we be able to uphold the expectations that all victims rightly possess: that their voices are heard, that their suffering is acknowledged, and that there is justice for the crimes committed against their loved ones.

Because too many victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda are yet to find this solace, it is imperative that the wheels of justice continue turning and that all alleged perpetrators are brought to justice without delay. No effort must be spared to achieve this end.

United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu and Lieutenant-General (ret’d) The Honourable Romeo Dallaire.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Joyce Chimbi
BAKU, Nov 19 2024 – The industrial revolution set the ball rolling towards global warming. Today, developing nations are on the frontlines of a climatic carnage and its snowballing effects. Developed nations bear a financial responsibility to provide climate finance to developing nations, as financing the transition to a low-carbon economy is an urgent, critical matter.

This year, 2024, is already on track to become the hottest in recorded human history. Decarbonization will help meet the Paris Agreement goals, avoid climate catastrophe and safeguard the planet for generations. It is for this reason that COP29 prioritised negotiations towards a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.

NCGQ is a key element of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It seeks to set a new financial target to support climate action in developing nations post-2025. In 2009, during the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, a climate finance goal was set at USD 100 billion per year. For many years, the goal remained elusive and was only fully achieved in 2022.

The current goal to finance climate action in developing countries for the period 2020-2025 is USD 100 billion. In the post-2025 period, a new global goal to finance climate action is needed. This is the genesis and basis for COP29 Baku NCQG on climate finance.

Research shows that the “concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from approximately 278 parts per million in 1750, the beginning of the industrial era, to 420 parts per million in 2023. The rise in heat-trapping carbon dioxide—and other greenhouse gases—is the primary reason for the planet’s soaring temperatures.”

With soaring temperatures, climate-driven disasters and the infinite cost of climate change are edging closer to reaching irreversible highs. For this reason, climate finance needed to reverse and halt the pace of climate change is no longer in the billions but trillions. Meanwhile, the signatories of the Paris Agreement are currently working on the third generation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

New NDCs will be submitted by February 10, 2025 and will incorporate the Global Stocktake agreed at COP28. The Global Stocktake evaluated progress on climate action at the global level against the goals of the Paris Agreement. NDCs are efforts each country commits to take to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

Within this context, the new collective quantified goal on climate finance is critical, as amounts of funds set aside for the NCQG will determine whether developing countries can, and to what extent finance their respective climate action in line with their national commitments or the NDCs.

UNFCCC’s Standing Committee on Finance estimates that the cost of implementing the third-generation NDCs will be USD 5.8-USD 5.9 trillion cumulatively by 2030. Developing countries are asking for at least USD 1 trillion in annual public support for the world’s most vulnerable nations to finance climate action once the current financial commitment of USD 100 billion lapses in 2025.

Delegates from developing nations say the current financing landscape is untenable as nearly 69 percent of all climate finance is provided in loans, entrenching and deepening existing inequalities and exacerbating debt crises in climate-vulnerable poor countries.

The global South is overwhelmingly asking for not less than USD 1 trillion per year in public granting support to replace the current USD 100 billion and they say that this is a drop in the ocean against the global GDP. The world generates nearly USD 100 trillion in GDP every year.

A fraction of that—just USD 1 trillion invested into climate action in developing nations—could drive a much-needed energy transition. A green revolution would decarbonise the economy and environment and rescue the world’s vulnerable, poor and underdeveloped nations from the jaws of a climate catastrophe before it is too late.

Back in 2009, acknowledging and taking responsibility for their substantial contribution to the climate crisis, developed countries agreed to mobilise USD 100 billion of climate finance a year by 2020 to run through 2025. Today, in Baku, developed countries are being asked to lift the billions into the trillion bracket. With only days to go until the end of the COP29 summit, it remains to be seen whether, at last, rich countries will agree to replace billions with trillions.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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