Amid the looming climate crisis, multilateralism is increasingly evident as the most viable path forward. Climate change is not a future risk, it is a real and present danger to billions of people around the world. Working together to address this crisis is in every nation’s self-interest. The UN-convened climate summit currently underway this week in Baku, Azerbaijan — COP29 — will undoubtedly have its own political dynamics, but the issue of climate justice and finance will cast a long shadow over the summit talks. Rarely have the stakes for global climate finance, in particular for African countries, been so high. Dubbed, “the Finance COP,” the summit is an opportunity to put in place a new global climate finance target to address the $1 trillion climate finance gap crucial for developing nations. Trillions more are needed. If this is not addressed urgently, the vulnerable communities on the frontlines of climate change will be left deeper in a hole of despair.
Why Wealthy Nations Must Step Up
Ten years into the Paris era of climate action, the world still has a lot of catching up to do. Wealthy countries remain critical players in setting finance standards that ensure a just energy transition for all, especially for vulnerable countries in Africa facing disproportionate climate impacts. Arguably, the summit opens a way for rich nations to take center stage in climate action financing — a prospect that brings varied opportunities and challenges for maintaining balance in global climate negotiations.
For many African countries, often the least responsible for the climate crisis yet hit the hardest by its consequences, equitable and adequate climate finance remains the most urgent need. Indeed, the developed world has committed itself to the mobilization of $100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries, a target that for years it has failed or neglected to meet. Worse still, the figure falls short of actual needs since actual estimates demand trillions of dollars. Besides the meager amount, most developing countries also bear large restrictive conditions, costly loans, and a serious lack of transparency in current climate finance mechanisms, exacerbating debt burdens and limiting their ability to adapt effectively.
What African Countries Really Need
Amidst the uncertainties, African countries are arriving in Baku with a unified and urgent message: piecemeal solutions are no longer enough. They are demanding substantial, equitable climate action backed by sustainable finance, particularly from high-income, developed nations, and are ready to push their demands harder than ever.
A Shift from Symbolism To Accountability
Under all notions of fairness, North America, Developed Asia Pacific, and all of Europe must finally scale up long-overdue climate finance without accounting gimmicks or high-interest loans but with grants and concessional finance, the developing countries so badly need for climate adaptation and mitigation. On average, African countries are losing 2%-5% of GDP and many are diverting up to 9% of their budget responding to climate extremes. High-income developed nations must stop symbolic gestures and provide real support that’s proportional to the problem at hand. To-date, developing countries have received just a fraction of previous finance flows, mostly as loans rather than grants, compounding debt pressures. Since rich countries committed to the $100 billion goal 15 years ago, the story of climate finance has been one of smoke and mirrors — too many loans, too few grants, too little for adaptation, and too much dishonest and misleading accounting, an Oxfam analysis reveals.
A New Ambitious Climate Finance Goal
COP29 must provide an opportunity to present a more ambitious target with quantified components — the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) — that can support developing countries in reducing emissions and adapting to climate impacts. If not, the world will inch backward on some very critical climate promises at a time when literally everything depends on this decade for staying at or below 1.5°C temperature rise. Climate negotiators must substantiate the quantitative goal for climate finance with the high qualitative standards needed to facilitate rapid and just climate action in a way that works for all. They must recognize justice, equity and fairness as non-negotiable dimensions underpinning the decision that unlocks the means of implementation for climate action. Regions such as Africa, and Southern and Southeast Asia should receive more financial support. If done well, the new goal could mitigate some of the issues that underpinned the unmet $100 billion goal.
Scale Up Technical and Capacity-Building Support
While accountability and financing are crucial, this will not be enough. Most developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa have neither the resources nor mechanisms to prepare “bankable” projects that would be eligible for international climate funding. Many private investors remain nonetheless reluctant to finance projects they view as high-risk projects with low returns, or where they see limited bankable opportunities, such as in adaptation. Support for early-phase project development could significantly empower these countries. Technical assistance and the various capacity-building measures that the rich nations would provide could, in turn, enable or enhance the ability of such countries to put the funds to better use to achieve their climate targets. This will involve compensating for phase-out and de-risking phase-in investments, allowing capital market investors to invest in large-ticket size, bankable renewable projects.
Why Baku Needs to Deliver
African countries resolve to fight for accessible and just financing must remain stronger than ever. However, just like the 2009 UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, COP29 will be remembered as a failure if countries don’t set meaningful and equitable finance framework. The question now remains: Will COP29 deliver on high ambitions or leave vulnerable nations to battle the climate crisis alone?
Ultimately, the hope is for rich historic polluters in the global north to rise to the challenge with substantial climate finance commitments that transcend mere symbolic support. The summit must create an environment that demands accountability and real financing mechanisms commensurate with the scale of the crisis. Every day that slips by increases the toll on millions of people in Africa. All eyes are now on wealthy nations to set a good example. Baku will be the inflection point that defines the cause of climate equity and finance.
Bio
Benson Kibiti is a seasoned strategic communications expert with 14 years of experience in international development, specializing in impactful, multi-channel media campaigns across environmental sustainability, energy, policy, health, and agriculture. A passionate advocate for climate action, he’s dedicated to shifting the narrative on a just energy transition in Africa and other emerging economies in the Global South, driving global dialogue on climate solutions and innovative responses to the energy crisis. He is currently based in Nairobi.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kibiti-benson-502b03166/
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