COP 29: Developing Nations Demand Billions in Climate Aid

The hosts of the upcoming UN climate conference COP 29, said that a challenging agreement on financial support for developing nations should involve “hundreds of billions” from developed nations.

According to a Reuters report, in the last year's climate COP (COP28), there were more than 160 world leaders attending the meeting, and there are more than 100 world leaders expected to appear in the next climate COP (COP 29), which is going to be held in Baku with 61 presidents, 38 prime ministers, and 2 crown princes resisterd as of mid-October.

During a crucial pre-COP29 meeting last week, Yalchin Rafiyev, the chief negotiator for the COP29 presidency, stated that parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognised for the first time that the required funding was in the trillions of dollars.

He stated that the public sector could realistically provide and mobilise "hundreds of billions" as a goal.

Negotiators will meet at COP 29 next month to establish a new financial target to substitute rich nations' existing pledge of $100 billion annually in climate funding for developing countries.

"We have done well to narrow down options, and the possible shapes of landing zones are coming into view. But we can clearly see the divides that the parties still need to bridge," COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev said to Reuters.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev told Reuters, "While states have common but differentiated responsibilities, they should put aside disagreements, stop blaming each other and find common ground. We cannot afford to waste time on defining who is guilty for global warming or who caused more environmental harm."

Importance of climate COPs

Global temperatures have risen approximately 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 F) from pre-industrial levels, with 2024 projected to become the hottest year ever recorded. Scientists caution that achieving the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 C (2.7 F) is becoming increasingly difficult without stronger efforts. 

Developing countries are requesting additional funds to improve their ability to adjust to climate change and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by investing in renewable energy, as extreme weather events become more severe due to global warming.