COP29: Leaked NCQG draft angers developing parties; call USD 300bn funding ‘paltry’

According to the draft, it proposes to call on all actors to work together in scaling up finance for developing Parties for climate action from all public, pvt sources to at least USD 1.3 tn per yr by 2035

A new draft of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) text was leaked by observers on Saturday which also did not go down well with developing countries.

The text states that finance will be mobilised from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral. (COP29 | Official X account)

According to the draft, it proposes to call on all actors to work together in scaling up finance for developing Parties for climate action from all public and private sources to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.

“In this context, reaffirms Article 9 of the Paris Agreement and decides to set a goal in extension of the goal referred to in paragraph 53 of decision 1/CP.21 (USD 100 billion goal that expires in 2025), with developed country Parties taking the lead, to USD 300 billion per year by 2035 for developing country parties”, the draft said.

The text states that finance will be mobilised from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources.

“Encourages developing country Parties to make additional contributions, including through South–South cooperation, to or supplementing, the goal set forth above on a voluntary basis”, it said.

It affirms that voluntary contributions don’t affect any Party’s development or recipient status.

“It is still paltry and doesn’t meet the needs of developing nations who are at the forefront of climate crisis. The mention of Article 9 of the Paris Agreement makes it a shade better than the previous draft. It still, however, says developed countries will take lead in delivering finance,” an observer said.

HT had reported on Saturday that developing countries and civil society organisations were not in agreement with the text.

“Where is Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement in this? The Paris Agreement states that developed country Parties shall provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties and not that developed countries will lead. The quantum is also an eyewash,” said a developing country negotiator.

The main concern among developing countries is that rich nations are attempting to dilute provisions of Article 9 of Paris Agreement thereby deflecting responsibility and shirking accountability for historical emissions that have led to present warming.

Least Developed Countries and Alliance of Small Island Nations (AOSIS) have walked out of COP29 as the text did not reflect their priorities.

“NCQG goal too small and will come late jeopardising existence of these states”, they said while walking out.