Ministers of Environment are meeting this week at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or COP29, in Azerbaijan's capital Baku to finalize the new global climate finance goal.
As the conference enters its critical second half on Monday, delegations from around 200 Paris Agreement signing parties have been working on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), a new finance initiative to succeed the COP15 goal of having developed countries to mobilize 100 billion U.S. dollars to support climate action in developing countries.
But there is still "a ton of work to do" to ensure COP29 and the NCQG delivery, according to a news release held by the COP29 presidium and the UNFCCC secretariat on Monday.
One of the major contentious issues is that, certain developed countries regard climate finance as charities and attempted to involve larger developing economies into obliged contributors as a prerequisite to scale up climate finance in the first week of negotiations.
"I've been very blunt, climate finance is not charity, it is a hundred percent in every nation's interest to protect their economies and people from rampant climate impacts," said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
Despite the complaints, the original 100 billion dollar goal was not achieved until 2022, with only a minor portion going to low-income countries and a quarter to Africa, according to the United Nations.
"A good finance shall move us into a just transition, just and equitable transition I must add," said Ama Ethel, chief negotiator of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change.
With time running out for COP29 to present a final plan and the world to achieve the 1.5-degree climate target, countries must take rapid and solid actions to address the imminent global challenge.
"The bottom line is we're a long way from halving global emissions this decade, so progress at COP29 is absolutely essential. And we must help countries to pick up the pace over this final week," said Stiell.
COP29 tries to deliver new climate finance goal
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, and is also a year in which China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields have overcome risks and challenges and made new achievements.
Wang once again congratulated Russia on successfully hosting the 16th BRICS Summit, which ushered in a new era for greater BRICS cooperation. The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Kazan Summit has made strategic plans for the next phase of the development of bilateral relations, he said.
China is willing to work with Russia to further strengthen coordination, inject new vitality into their comprehensive strategic coordination, and make their due contributions to the development and revitalization of their countries and to the reform of global governance, Wang said.
Wang emphasized that China and Russia should work together with other BRICS partners to carry out the outcomes of the BRICS Kazan Summit, expand and strengthen the BRICS mechanism, enhance the influence of the Global South, and play a greater role in promoting a multipolar world.
Wang said that China has assumed the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for 2024-2025 and is willing to work closely with Russia to promote greater development and elevate the SCO to new heights.
Mentioning that next year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, Wang suggested that the two countries should jointly organize successful commemorative events, firmly defend the outcomes of World War II, uphold international equity and justice, and make history serve as a guide for the future.
Lavrov noted that Russia-China relations are at an unprecedented high level. The heads of both states have maintained close exchanges and set new cooperation goals, he said, adding that Russia-China relations have been always based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, which comply with the interests of the two peoples and win the support of Global South countries.
Lavrov expressed his gratitude to China for its support of Russia's BRICS chairmanship, saying Russia will actively support China's role as the SCO rotating presidency. He also expressed willingness to continue strengthening cooperation with China through multilateral mechanisms such as the G20, APEC, and the United Nations.
The UN is the most important outcome of the victory of World War II, and commemorating the 80th anniversary of its founding is of great significance, Lavrov said. The international community should seize this opportunity to oppose any attempts to undermine the post-war international order, in order to jointly safeguard global peace and stability.
The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, among other issues.
Chinese, Russian FMs meet in Rio de Janeiro
