$1 trillion needed in climate cash for developing nations
The major battle in Baku is over how much rich nations will help poor countries to decarbonize their energy systems, cope with future harms of climate change and pay for damage from warming's extreme weather. The old goal of 100 billion US dollar a year in aid is expiring and Baku's main focus is coming up with a new, bigger figure.
An independent expert group, commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, has called for a significant increase in climate funding, proposing a tripling of the old commitment.
Their report urges that wealthy nations must demonstrate a credible and sustained commitment to assisting developing countries in decarbonizing their energy systems, adapting to the effects of climate change, and addressing the damage caused by extreme weather events linked to global warming.
At the ongoing climate talks in Baku, a coalition of developing nations is demanding $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance. The independent experts' report estimates that about $1 trillion per year is needed from all external sources—not just government grants—to support these nations' climate goals. In total, climate adaptation spending across all countries is projected to reach $2.4 trillion annually.
The report emphasizes the vast financial requirements for decarbonizing the global economy, building resilience to climate impacts, addressing loss and damage, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring a just transition to a green economy. "The transition to clean, low-carbon energy, building resilience to the impacts of climate change, coping with loss and damage, protecting nature and biodiversity, and ensuring a just transition, require a rapid step-up in investment in all countries," the report states.
Despite ongoing international efforts, projections for future global temperature rise have not been reduced, with recent developments in major emitters like China and the United States possibly worsening the outlook. This comes as nations gather in Baku for COP29 to set new targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and to discuss how wealthy nations can contribute financially to global climate action.
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