Published: 03 November 2024
The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 11-22, 2024 will give utmost importance to setting new targets for post-2025 climate finance to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the negative impacts of climate change.
The conference will also focus on the expansion and transition to renewable energy to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees from pre-industrial times through increased national commitments in updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted by 2025. The conference agenda will also include energy transition, loss and damage funds, environment and biodiversity conservation, land use and urban management.
Therefore, the following issues of good governance become important in the decision-making process on climate finance and other agenda items of the Baku conference.
- 01. Lack of transparency in climate finance's new target-setting process: At the 2015 Climate Summit, a committee was formed to set new collective quantified goals (NCQG) for climate finance by 2025. This committee will complete its activities in 2024. Major challenges of good governance within these activities are
Absence of a roadmap for setting new climate finance goal and mobilizing them: To address climate adaptation, loss and damage, climate mitigation as well as energy transition, there are still no plan of action or roadmap developed to set climate finance goal post 2025 detailing timely disbursement mechanism.
Failing to set financing targets according to the needs of affected countries: The payment of $100 billion annually from 2020 was a political commitment that did not take into account the needs of affected countries. On the other hand, the committee on NCQG has also not taken steps to consider the needs of affected countries using scientific methods for setting new goals for climate finance from 2025 onward. - 02 - Deficit in the delivery of pledged climate fund: Climate funding pledged in the Paris Agreement is voluntary instead of being mandatory. This has resulted in difficulties in obtaining the required climate finance flows needed for developing countries. Major challenges affecting climate funds include –
Deficit in disbursement of pledged funds: Although climate finance commitments crossed $100 billion for the first time in 2022., there are governance challenges associated with the accounting and disbursement processes. As of 2016, developed countries annually contributed $82 billion of climate finance on average. However, there is no progress in disbursing the promised $100 billion every year in a transparent and timely manner, including bridging the previous years’ deficit.
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