MONEY TALKS
Whereas final 12 months’s COP28 summit in UAE struck a landmark deal to part out fossil fuels, COP29 is charged with a brand new, daunting job: placing a price ticket on how a lot growing nations might want to climate the mounting impacts of local weather change and to transition to greener economies.
Greater than a decade in the past, rich nations – together with the USA, European Union, Japan and others – pledged to ship US$100 billion yearly by 2020 to assist growing nations.
However that objective was solely achieved for the primary time in 2022, and far of the funding got here within the type of high-interest loans, drawing fierce criticism and accusations of damaged guarantees.
India has known as for US$1 trillion yearly, a ten-fold improve within the present pledge.
Not solely do developed nations view such figures as unrealistic, they’re now advocating for oil-rich Gulf states and China to share the monetary burden, arguing that the unique record of donor nations relies on outdated Nineteen Nineties growth ranges.
Rafiyev emphasised that COP29’s benchmark for fulfillment could be reaching consensus on a ultimate headline determine.
Nonetheless, he declined to weigh in on the World North’s push to increase the pool of contributors, stressing the host nation’s want to remain impartial.
He additionally declined to specify when Azerbaijan, whose financial system relies upon closely on oil and gasoline extraction, would unveil its up to date plans to satisfy the emissions reductions required by the Paris Settlement.
Though nations should not obligated to submit these plans till February 2025, many local weather observers had hoped Azerbaijan would seize the chance on the UN Normal Meeting to point out management by setting formidable new targets.
As a substitute, Rafiyev stated Azerbaijan would “do our greatest” to launch its new local weather technique forward of the Baku summit, and was coordinating with Brazil and the UAE – the following and former COP hosts – in direction of this objective.
