So close, but so far: COP29’s last minute finance deal
Financial support falls well short of what estimates suggest will be needed, and the late agreement reveals increasingly fractured political support.
Critics have branded COP29’s last minute deal as a ‘travesty of justice’. The agreement will see the wealthiest countries spend $300billion a year on helping developing nations decarbonise and cope with the impact of the climate crisis.
This is far leas than the $1.3trillion experts believe is needed to cover these cots, but the international community has failed to secure the necessary backing for this. As signatures were added to the agreement a number of countries, including several climate vulnerable islands and African states, walked out of the negotiating room in protest.
‘The 11th hour agreement reached at COP29 is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the fact that a significant $300 billion has been pledged to support the world’s poorest in tackling the devastating effects of climate change represents real progress,’ said Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Toby Perkins MP.
‘While it is far less than the $1 trillion estimated to be needed, the sum agreed brought the negotiations back from the verge of collapse,’ he continued. ‘On the other hand, another failure to agree wording on leaving fossil fuels in the past is simply kicking the can down the road. It is critical that next year’s COP in Brazil revisits the issue of phasing out fossil fuels. The world is making enormous progress in moving to low carbon energy: it’s time to turbocharge these efforts for the health and prosperity of our fragile planet.’
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Image: Matthew TenBruggencate via Unsplash