First draft text on new post-2025 climate finance goals released

BAKU: With the first draft decision text on new post-2025 climate finance goals released at CO 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 CO 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 CO, 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 CO, 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.