The next UN climate summit, hosted by Azerbaijan this year, is committed to strengthening climate finance for developing countries, newly appointed COP29 president-elect Mukhtar Babayev said. He was speaking at the 23rd World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), which kicked off on Wednesday at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Delhi.
Babayev, the Azerbaijani government’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, will lead discussions when countries hold the next phase of climate talks later this year. In his first virtual address from New Delhi after his appointment, he said his most important commitment was to advance the global climate agenda set at COP28 in Dubai.
New global climate finance target
“A key priority is to develop a realistic roadmap for the New Collective and Quantified Targets (NCQGs) for climate finance, while recognizing the needs of developing countries – which by 2030 have reached nearly 6 trillion. Our goal is to prioritize “setting quantifiable goals and targets and encouraging countries to make concrete commitments to double adaptation finance by 2025.” This is very important to ensure accountability and real progress,” Babayev said.
Last December, COP28 concluded in Dubai with the first global stocktake, highlighting how financial commitments by rich countries fell short of the trillions of dollars needed to support a just and equitable energy transition in developing countries and implement national climate plans .
Countries also negotiated a new Collective Quantitative Target (NCQG) for climate finance in 2024, building on the current annual target of US$100 billion, which would take into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. The new targets will start from a baseline of $100 billion per year and will support the subsequent implementation of national climate plans that need to be delivered by 2025. This is achieved without developed countries providing $100 billion per year in funding. As they promised in 2009, this will be achieved by 2020.
Roadmap to triple renewable energy capacity
The COP-designate president stressed that focus will also be on developing a clear and feasible roadmap to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. More than 118 countries have signed the global commitment to triple renewable energy capacity; however, India is not one of them. “Our focus is on developing a framework for global adaptation goals that incorporates measurable, time-bound targets for specific themes and sectors,” Babayev said, acknowledging the “widening gap in adaptation finance.” The strategy will also increase private sector participation, he added.
German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan, who also participated virtually at the summit, said the next two years will be crucial for countries to prepare for the next round of nationally determined contributions. “This year countries have become really serious about changing the international financial and development architecture itself, so decarbonization and risk resilience are by default,” she said. She stressed that India has huge potential to keep the 1.5°C cap within an achievable range, with its impressive renewable energy targets ultimately making it cheaper than oil and gas, and that the two countries can work together to increase energy diversification. . “We are looking to diversify imports of renewable energy technologies and India can play a role in this. Germany has about 52% renewable energy capacity and the grid is phasing out coal. We are keen to transform and build resilience,” she added .
Professor Li Huisheng, former Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), draws attention to the urgent need to provide effective adaptation support to redress climate justice. “Human mortality has increased 15-fold in the past decade due to floods and droughts in the world’s most vulnerable regions. Now is the time to chart a course for a climate-responsive future,” he added.
Suruchi Bhadwal, senior fellow and director of TERI, agreed that the next five to six years will be critical for the world to make decisions that promote climate action, reduce emissions and build resilience. “These decisions will determine how severe the impact of climate change will be on us. Adaptation and building resilience are also as important as mitigation measures,” Badwal added.
The three-day summit was inaugurated by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday under the theme “Leadership for Sustainability and Climate Justice”.
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