UN Challenges the "Charity" Narrative on Climate Finance at COP29

Baku, Azerbaijan - UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell opened the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) on Monday by challenging the notion of viewing climate finance as "charity".

Climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.

Stiell emphasised that the issue of climate finance is not merely a matter of altruism but a strategic imperative for all nations. "If at least two-thirds of the world's nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price," he warned. "If nations can’t build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune."

He asked the parties to think about three key questions:

1. Higher Prices: Do you want to pay more for your food and energy?

2. Economic Struggles: Do you want your country to fall behind economically?

3. Global Instability: Do you want more conflict and suffering in the world?

   
   

Going on to clarify that If the answer to any of these questions is "No," then we need to take urgent action to address climate change. This includes setting ambitious goals for climate finance to help countries reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Stiell stressed the urgency of accelerating the shift to clean energy and climate-resilient solutions and stated that this transition is inevitable and should benefit all countries and people.

To track progress and ensure accountability, he called for setting clear adaptation targets. He also highlighted the importance of improving support mechanisms for loss and damage caused by climate change.

To make informed decisions, countries are expected to submit their updated climate action plans (NDCs) next year. The UN will launch a Climate Campaign support countries in developing these plans.

To further enhance international cooperation, Climate Weeks will be restarted from 2025, aligning them with the UN climate process and its goals.

The COP29 conference is expected to focus on accelerating climate action, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience to climate impacts, and providing financial support to developing nations.

So who pays whom?

The UN climate agreements, including the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, recognize that not all countries contribute equally to climate change or have the same ability to address it. Therefore, they call for wealthier countries to help less endowed, more vulnerable countries deal with climate change.

In accordance with the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities” set out in the Convention, developed country Parties are to provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties in implementing the objectives of the UNFCCC.

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How does this work?

The UN climate body has a website that provides information on climate finance. This website has a special section with helpful visuals and explanations to help people understand how climate finance works. It also shows how money is being used to help developing countries fight climate change. This section is divided into three parts, each providing information from different sources, including countries and international organizations.