BAKU: With the first draft decision text on new post-2025 climate finance goals released at COP29 here on Wednesday, amid huge differences between rich and developing nations on the issue, UN climate body said developing countries would need $1.1-2.4 trillion annual investment by 2030, and up to $2.9 trillion till 2035, to meet mitigation goals.
This could, at least, be an indication to negotiators of rich nations about requirement when developing countries have been struggling to get a deal on having at least $1.3 trillion a year from their developed counterparts with a significant provision component for adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage.
Developing countries, however, don’t want it in the form of “investment” as currently much of climate finance discussions are focused on investments in mitigation actions.
Though the new text has mentioned the amount ($1.3 trillion), it also carried the other much lesser options in brackets with caveats on the nature of climate finance which won’t be acceptable to developing countries.
Developing countries expressed that climate finance should be “adequate, predictable, accessible, grant-based, low-interest and long-term”. The developed countries have, so far, not put in any numbers.
Referring to the text, developing countries have already pointed out that it was an attempt to push weak language to avoid providing real grant-based finance. Negotiations at COP29 would, therefore, see more texts on a new climate finance goal — called New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) — in the coming days for countries to thrash out their differences. In all probability, the more intense discussions for some convergence in the final text is expected next week when ministers are around.
Albanian PM goes off script, speech creates a stir
Albanian PM Edi Rama created a stir on Wednesday at COP29, claiming that nothing had actually changed in the real world despite big appeals by leaders, who he blamed lacked common political will to go beyond words and unite for meaningful action. Citing an observation he had made a day before, Rama said he decided to leave aside his “well prepared speech” after watching the “silent TV” in the leaders’ lounge.
“People there eat, drink, meet, and take photos together, while images of voiceless speeches from leaders play on and on and on in the background. To me, this seems exactly like what happens in the real world every day,” he said.
Special envoy says US will continue path of decarbonisation
Putting up a brave face amid the threat of dilution of climate actions under Donald Trump, the American special Presidential envoy for climate John Podesta said the US economy would continue down the path of decarbonisation, reducing emissions for years to come, because of historic private sector investments made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act under President Joe Biden.
Delivering his nation’s statement here at COP29, he said the US is on track to meet President Biden’s ambitious international public finance commitment of $11 billion per year by the end of 2024. He emphasised that the American negotiators would need to first conclude the key negotiated outcomes including Article 6 (carbon market) and a robust new climate finance target here at the climate conference.
“It should be multi-layered with an ambitious, realistically achievable support layer involving new contributors … underpinned by a set of qualitative elements that evolve the international financial architecture,” said Podesta in the context of the new post-2025 finance goal.

The UN COP29 conference, which is scheduled to be held, from 11 November to 22 November in Baku, might pressurize rich countries to increase their contribution to ‘climate finance’ for poor countries by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Climate finance is likely to be the top agenda at the conference amid disagreements on how much is needed, who should pay and what should be covered in it.
Climate finance
Though there is no universally agreed upon definition of climate finance, as per the Paris agreement, it refers to the money spent in a manner “consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.” It includes government or private money to promote clean energy like solar and wind, technology like electric vehicles, or adaptation measures like dykes to hold back rising seas.
At the UN negotiations, climate finance is discussed to resolve the difficulties faced by the developing world and use the money to prepare for global warming.
At present, most climate finance assistance is transacted through development banks or funds that are co-managed with the countries involved, like the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.
Which nations pay
Under a 1992 UN accord, a handful of rich countries that are most responsible for global warming are obligated to provide finance. In 2009, the United States, the European Union, Japan, Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand and Australia agreed to pay $100 billion per year by 2020, however, this was achieved for the first time in 2022. The delay in paying eroded the trust of developing countries and fuelled accusations that rich countries were shirking their responsibility.
Nearly 200 nations are expected to agree on a new finance goal beyond 2025 at COP29.
India has proposed a call for $1 trillion annually, with some other proposals suggesting even higher amounts.
However, the responsible countries request other major economies to contribute as well, arguing that there is a huge difference between 1990 and 2024 economies as big industrialized nations in the 90’s represent only 30 percent of historic greenhouse gas emissions today.
China is particularly pushed for being the world’s largest polluter, along with the gulf countries. But this proposal has not yet arrived at a conclusion.
Negotiations
UN commissioned experts estimate that apart from China, other developing countries would require $2.4 trillion per year by 2030.
The distinction between climate finance, foreign aid and private capital is often unclear and campaigners are pushing for transparency to specify where the funds come from, and in what form.
Grants instead of loans
According to AFP, coallations of activists, environment and scientific organizations wrote to governments in October asking rich nations to pay $1 trillion a year into three clear categories.
Around $300 billion would be government money for reducing planet-heating emissions, $300 billion for adaptation measures and $400 billion for disaster relief known as “loss and damage”.
Developed countries, however, are opposed to including funds for “loss and damage” in any new climate finance agreement reached at COP29.
Campaigners are also critical of the $100 billion pledge because two-thirds of the money was given as loans and not grants. The signatories believe that all the funds should be given as grants, instead of loans, as loans could worsen debt problems for poorer countries.
Alternatives
France, Kenya and Barbados support the idea of new global taxes, for example on aviation or maritime transport, with the backing of UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Redirecting fossil fuel subsidies to support clean energy or canceling the debt of poorer countries in return for climate investments are also potential solutions.