BAKU: Close to 200 nations are set to converge in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in November, where they will negotiate a new climate finance target aimed at supporting the Global South. This year’s conference, referred to as the “Finance COP,” is expected to prioritize discussions on a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), which seeks to establish a fresh monetary commitment from historically high-emitting countries to address the climate needs of poorer nations.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the negotiations come in the wake of persistent challenges in meeting previous financial commitments. In 2009, major economies, including the United States and the European Union, pledged to collectively contribute $100 billion annually by 2020. However, an OECD report highlighted their struggle to meet this target, with a significant portion of the funds being offered as loans, thereby exacerbating the debt challenges faced by developing countries.

T
he urgency of these negotiations is underscored by recent extreme weather events, which scientists attribute to human-induced climate change. The article notes that July witnessed the three hottest days on record, and fossil fuel emissions have soared to unprecedented levels, potentially leading to a 2.7 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures by 2100, far exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Azerbaijan, the conference host, has initiated the Climate Finance Action Fund, aiming to raise $1 billion from fossil-fuel producing nations and companies. However, experts like Irene Monasterolo, a climate finance professor at Utrecht University, caution that the NCQG negotiations might culminate in a lower-than-necessary financial commitment, focusing predominantly on emission reduction projects while neglecting adaptation investments crucial for low-income countries already grappling with climate risks.

Following last year’s COP28 in Dubai, where a voluntary fund was establi
shed for historic emitters to compensate for climate-related damages in vulnerable countries, the Baku conference is expected to revisit discussions on the inclusion of a loss and damage fund in the new NCQG framework. The inclusion remains uncertain, as highlighted by Karoliina Hurri from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Furthermore, COP29 will witness the first collaborative talks between new U.S. and China envoys, John Podesta and Liu Zhenmin, who agreed to hold a summit on methane and non-carbon greenhouse gases during the climate conference after a preliminary meeting in Beijing in September.