BAKU, Azerbaijan — Rich nations are falling short in their commitments to climate finance, according to Teresa Anderson, the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International. Anderson criticized the draft text on the new climate finance goal at COP29, arguing that developed countries are not meeting the financial needs of developing nations.
“Rich countries are failing this moral test,” Anderson said. “Developing countries have come to Baku with the hope that this COP would finally deliver the funding they need to cope with climate impacts and cut emissions. But the developed countries most responsible for causing climate destruction are turning a deaf ear to the reality faced by frontline nations. This draft doesn’t provide the trillions in grants that are needed to keep the planet safe.”
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Anderson expressed concern that rather than increasing their climate finance contributions, wealthy nations are redefining what qualifies as climate finance. “Instead of actually increasing their climate finance contributions, rich countries just want to increase what counts as climate finance,” she said. “With all the loans and corporate investment being pushed into this new goal, this text could end up being a pretext for corporate profit under a climate veneer.”
The current negotiations and draft texts at COP29 have drawn criticism for potentially allowing corporate interests to overshadow the urgent need for substantial, grant-based climate finance. Anderson emphasized the necessity of COP29 delivering trillions in grants annually to support urgent climate action globally.
“The whole world needs COP29 to deliver trillions in grants every year for urgent climate action,” she concluded.
