The much-hyped Conference of Parties, #COP29 held in Baku Azerbaijan from 11-22 November, came and go with much hullabaloo.
Many people in Zimbabwe and beyond never heard about or did not comprehend what it was all about. The conclusion of #COP29, heralded as the “Finance COP” represents a significant setback for climate justice and global solidarity.
For Africans and other developing nations who had hoped for a more ambitious outcome – on both finance and mitigation to meet the great challenge we face, the conference left a sour taste of subterfuge in its wake.
The conference had huge expectations, but it underdelivered where it mattered most. The failure to agree on a robust New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance is a massive letdown.
I was not in Baku but thanks to the power of digital networks, I have witnessed firsthand the frustration and disappointment of delegates and analysts akin from developing countries, who felt that their concerns and needs are not being taken seriously.
To put the matter into perspective, the United Nations 29th Conference of Parties on Climate Change talks concluded in Baku, Azerbaijan with a pledge by rich nations of at least $300 billion annually to support poorer countries to the cause of abating the climate crisis.
The nearly 200 countries at the #UN#climatechange conference in Baku, Azerbaijan also reached important agreements on carbon markets, transparent climate reporting and adaptation.
While African and developing countries demanded US$1.3 trillion to address critical adaptation and resilience needs, the final commitment was a mere 300 billion.
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This pledge not only underscores the global north’s continued evasion of responsibility but also introduces mechanisms that deepen inequality.
Developing countries called this amount insufficient to rise to the global challenge of tackling climate-related losses and the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe disasters.
However, the agreement faced immediate backlash from African nations and climate activists, who deemed the figure insufficient given the escalating climate crisis.
What is even more alarming for this colossal fraud sealed at #COP29 Baku is that most of this financing is expected to come in the form of loans, which will only exacerbate the already crippling debt burdens of these countries.
Under pressure, poorer countries were pushed into a deal that is effectively a death sentence for millions of people today and a legacy of injustice for future generations.
Developing economies may need to divert resources to respond to climate disasters, increasing debt and economic burden, and diverting funds from other critical development needs.
The wealthy nations have evaded their duty to provide public funds to support countries in the Global South who are already facing floods, hunger, starvation and healthy challenges. Instead, they have opened the door to private investments, loans and pollution permits – tools that will be counted as “climate finance” but ultimately leading to further harm. Climate justice cannot be built on the backs of debt-ridden nations.
To put this into perspective, NATO members’ combined defense budget for 2024 is approximately $380 billion, and the majority of NATO members are also historical emitters.
Meanwhile, the world’s 2,781 billionaires have a total net worth of approximately US$14.2 trillion, according to Forbes. Clearly, the world has enough money to solve the climate crisis, but priorities are misplaced.
Climate finance is a fundamental element for resilience and reduced disaster risk.We must be clear; ambition and promises are only as good as the action and delivery that backs them.
The lack of ambition and commitment to climate action from developed countries was palpable. It’s clear that #COP29 didnot deliver for the most vulnerable nations especially those in the Global South who are most impacted by the climate crisis.
The devastating impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and the climate emergency demonstrate how the systemic nature of risk and the cascading impacts of disasters affect every facet of society and economies in the least developed countries (LDCs), from agricultural and industrial development, to human mobility and urbanisation, as well as food security and the provision of basic services.
For some LDCs, disaster risk is further compounded by protracted humanitarian crisis and conflict dynamics according to the United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction).
For Zimbabwe, a country whose economy is anchored on rain-fed agriculture, #COP29 comes at the close of a brutal year – a year seared by record temperatures, and scarred by climate disaster in the form of the El Nino induced drought that led to loss of livelihoods through crop failures, livestock deaths, and water scarcity, impacting agricultural productivity and food security.
The 2024 #AdaptationGap Report finds that nations must scale up climate adaptation urgently, starting with a strong commitment to finance because as climate impacts intensify, the world’s most vulnerable are hit hardest exacerbating poverty and inequality.
It’s essential to address climate change and support developing economies in building resilience, adapting to climate impacts, and transitioning to sustainable, low-carbon development pathways.
As climate change intensifies, so does the need for urgent, innovative approaches to disaster risk reduction across Africa?
With the failure of COP29 to set anywhere near the quantum needed under the NCQG, it’s more important than ever that Parties, and all those who care about climate justice, redouble our efforts for #COP30 in Belem to find viable and ambitious solutions for climate finance.
The road to Belem must be one of concerted action and living up to commitments.
*Alfred Towo is an agro-livelihoods and humanitarian emergencies expert. He writes here in his own capacity. Email: aliphytowo@gmail.com
