The countries remain at a significant distance from the COP29 finance objective

Countries are still far from reaching an agreement on the summit’s most significant objective: to establish a new funding target to assist developing countries in adapting to climate change, with less than three months until the COP29 UN climate negotiations this year.

The U.N. climate body published a document on Thursday that outlined the divisions between nations in anticipation of a meeting in Baku next month. At this meeting, negotiators will endeavor to progress on some of the most challenging issues.

The document proposes seven alternatives for a potential COP29 agreement, which are indicative of the competing positions of the countries. The current commitment of wealthy nations to provide $100 billion annually in climate financing to developing countries will be replaced by the new target.

A significantly higher funding objective is desired by developing and vulnerable nations. Canada and the 27-nation European Union, which are donor countries, have stated that a substantial increase in public financing is unfeasible due to the stretched national budgets.

Mukhtar Babayev, the prospective president of the COP29 summit, stated, “We have made significant progress; however, there are still distinct differences that require resolution.”

Babayev, the minister of ecology and natural resources of Azerbaijan, stated that the COP29 presidency would conduct extensive negotiations on the finance objective prior to the COP29 summit in Baku in November.

One of the options in the document aims to mobilize a total of $1.1 trillion in funding from all sources, including private finance, annually from 2025 to 2029. This includes a target for developed countries to provide $441 billion in grants each year.

The Arab countries’ perspective is represented by that alternative.

Another alternative, which aligns with the EU’s negotiating stance, establishes a global climate-funding objective of over $1 trillion annually. This target encompasses domestic investments and private funding from countries, as well as a smaller portion provided by countries with “high greenhouse-gas emissions and economic capabilities.”

China, the world’s largest polluter and second-largest economy, has been required by the European Union to contribute to the new climate-funding commitment.

China is classified as a developing country by the United Nations under a system that was established in the 1990s and is still in use today. Beijing rejects the notion that it should be responsible for funding climate finance, which is primarily provided by wealthy nations to impoverished nations.

The issue of who should pay is anticipated to be one of the most significant obstacles to reaching a finance agreement at COP29, according to negotiators.

Another option in the document, which aligns with Canada’s stance, proposes that the target’s contributors be determined based on per-capita emissions and income. This metric could also be included in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and other countries.