Developed nations have committed to providing $300 billion per year by 2035 to developing countries to help them tackle climate change, but many are questioning whether the amount is sufficient.
At the COP29 summit, leaders from the Global North hailed the deal as a positive step in the right direction, with EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra calling it a “new era on climate finance” and US President Joe Biden labeling it “ambitious.” However, developing nations have slammed the deal as inadequate.
The new deal aims to triple the previous finance pledge made in 2009, but analysts from the Center for Global Development (CGD) say it is barely above business as usual. According to CGD, the $300 billion a year target can be achieved with almost no additional budgetary efforts beyond existing commitments.
Critics argue that the deal lacks specificity and that there are still questions about who will pay what. Switzerland’s environment minister Albert Rösti said his country would not commit any extra public funds, but instead would rely on private sources to meet its climate finance goals.
Inflation is also a concern, as leading economists have warned that developed countries may need to provide even more funding in the future. An analysis from civil society group Power Shift Africa found that inflation could cut the real terms value of the $300 billion a year goal to just $175 billion by 2035.
The CGD estimates that if inflation follows the same trends as before, the original $100 billion a year pledge would be equivalent to around $150 billion today. Existing provisions would be around $220 billion a year by 2035, leaving developed countries with only an additional $80 billion in new sources to find.
As a result, many are questioning whether the COP29 climate finance deal truly addresses the urgent need for climate action and whether it will be enough to meet the developing nations’ needs.
Source: https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/12/04/an-ice-free-arctic-could-happen-by-summer-2027-what-it-means-for-weather-shipping-and-pola