The UN Climate Conference, COP29, held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, was “difficult,” even “painful,” as it ended with “a lamentable agreement.” Several countries and environmental protection groups condemned the financial agreement reached at the end of the UN climate conference.
The countries gathered at COP29 needed two extra nights to reach a last-minute agreement. By 2035, wealthy countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, considered historical polluters, will have to pay at least 300 billion dollars a year to countries that have polluted the environment the least. This amount currently stands at 100 billion dollars a year.
I think we managed to save face, but we haven’t made much progress, commented Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, nonetheless welcoming the new financial target achieved.
A year after the historic agreement reached at COP28, the approximately 200 countries gathered in Azerbaijan this year agreed at the last minute to increase financial support from the wealthier countries to the so-called developing countries.
However, the countries participating in the meeting did not manage to agree on further reducing global carbon pollutant emissions. They also failed to make progress on stopping the burning of fossil fuels, oil, gas, and coal, the main culprits of environmental damage.
This agreement is like a band-aid on an open wound at a time when the world is bleeding more and more from the impacts of climate change, reacted the Director General of the Climate Action Network of Canada, Caroline Brouillette, contacted from Baku, where she attended the negotiations.
For the Federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, the Azerbaijani government was not the best facilitator for bridging the positions of the different countries.
Criticism of the Host Country
This UN Climate Conference was not the first attended by Caroline Brouillette, but this COP29 in Azerbaijan has been particularly difficult, she explained.
First of all, because developed countries, including Canada, showed up without putting figures on the table for a new financing agreement. Azerbaijan was also poorly prepared and unfortunately lacked leadership, added Brouillette, recalling that this country is an outspoken supporter of fossil fuels.
Sometimes we had the impression that the Azerbaijani government was more there to assert its interests than to be a facilitator or an arbiter to bridge the positions of different countries, added Canadian Minister Steven Guilbeault.
These 300 billion dollars annually allocated to the countries that have polluted the environment the least, can be delivered in the form of loans or donations, and must be used for energy transition and adaptation to the consequences of climate change in the so-called developing countries. It is also part of the global target of $1.3 trillion in financing per year, mentioned in the agreement.
That amount may seem high, but developing countries have estimated their needs to be between 500 billion and 1.3 trillion dollars per year. Such a calculation is shared by the experts commissioned by the United Nations.
Too Little, Say the Countries
The proposed amount is unfortunately low. It’s ridiculous, reacted Indian delegate Chandni Raina. Kenya’s delegate, Ali Mohamed, speaking on behalf of several African countries, also said that the amount offered by rich countries was ridiculous.
We are really disappointed. It is a very difficult agreement for developing countries to accept, said Namrata Chowdhary, head of public engagement at 350.org, an organization that fights for the use of green energy worldwide.
Poor countries and small island states are at the forefront of countries severely affected by climate change, of which they are not the cause. In return, they are vulnerable to increasingly severe natural disasters. And yet, their voices have not been heard, lamented Chowdhary.
They have been cornered, forced to accept an agreement that will not allow them to adapt to climate change while at the same time moving away from the use of fossil fuels.
For her part, Mariana Paoli from the organization Christian Aid lamented the lack of clarity regarding the portion of the promised funding that will come from public funds and grants, rather than loans. It is a kind of empty promise, she emphasized.
The Baku agreement also stipulates that, from now on, climate financing for developing countries granted through multilateral development banks can be counted towards the goal of 300 billion dollars annually so that less affluent countries can cope with the ravages of climate change and opt for green energy.
The text of the final declaration of COP29 specifies that financial contributions remain voluntary. China, currently the world’s largest polluter, refuses to be subject to the same demands as developed countries in the name ofits historical responsibility.
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