Public money must be “at the heart” of the new climate pact: stipulated by the United Nations

The UN climate chief said on Thursday that money from rich countries must be “at the heart” of a new deal to increase funding for poorer countries to combat global warming.

Developing countries need trillions of dollars to finance clean energy and prepare for climate change, but the world cannot agree on how to raise the money.

There are hopes that nations can resolve this issue at next month’s COP29 UN climate summit, despite disagreements over how much is needed, what is covered, who pays for it and how.

The wealthy nations most responsible for global warming so far, such as the United States and the European Union, are obliged to pay and are under pressure to increase their existing commitment of $100 billion a year.

But they say they can’t foot the bill alone and want others to help whatever “climate finance” goal is met when nearly 200 nations gather for COP29 in Azerbaijan.

“It is not my job to predict what the new target will be,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes the COP negotiations but does not influence their decisions.

“But it is clear that public finances must be the focus. As much of this funding as possible must come in the form of grants or concessions and must be made more accessible to those who need it most.”

Developing countries – most of the world as defined by the UNFCCC, from powerful emerging powers like China to low-lying island nations – say historical polluters have a moral obligation to dig deep.

They are also legally required by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to lead the way in providing and mobilizing such funds.

But some donors face financial and political constraints and are wary of demands to allocate huge sums of new money from their budgets.

They want private investment to play a much larger role and for China, the oil-rich Gulf states and other wealthy emerging economies to also help fill the pot.

Stiell said who pays and how much could be clarified at COP29, “but we are not going there to renegotiate the Paris Agreement.”

Azerbaijan said on Monday developing countries need trillions of dollars in climate finance but a target of hundreds of billions of dollars in public money would be “more realistic”.

The hosts are expecting more than 100 heads of state and government to attend the two-week summit in the capital Baku, which begins on November 11.

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