African civil society calls for stronger climate finance commitments at COP29

At COP29, civil society organizations in Africa have called on the global community to honour its climate finance commitments and set more ambitious, equitable targets for the future.

This plea was made during a briefing at the African Pavilion at COP29, where participants emphasized the need for the new collective climate finance goal to align with Africa’s adaptation ambitions, which are currently being discussed as part of the Global Adaptation Goal negotiations, Caliber.Az reports citing local media.

They underscored that the principles of the Paris Agreement and the demand for climate justice must form the foundation of climate finance.

The Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, a key group at the event, urged developed countries to fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement. The Alliance called for the implementation of the new collective goal in Baku and the establishment of a steady flow of climate finance to address the climate crisis.

Representatives from African NGOs also highlighted the need for solidarity at COP29 and stressed the importance of fairness and equity in climate finance. They reiterated that their main objective was to introduce new initiatives in discussions with the heads and officials of the 15 African states present at the summit.

Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, spoke at the Congo National Pavilion in the blue zone of COP29, stating that his country aims to adapt all regions to the green city concept. "I have already given relevant instructions in this regard. On the other hand, people, especially the youth, should be sensitive to all the trees planted," he added. Nguesso further noted that the Congo government plans to raise awareness by organizing a series of large-scale events at COP29 to ensure that natural resources contribute to the development of green spaces.

Burkina Faso's Aboubacar Tarore, who attended COP29, praised the event’s organization and infrastructure. He emphasized, "We are all here for one purpose - we have one planet, one earth. We have to be very careful with nature and protect the world around us. Climate change is real and causing too much damage to the world, it has to be fought everywhere." He shared that in his country, the main environmental issue is land degradation, which leads to long dry seasons followed by heavy rains and floods, devastating agriculture and health.

Elina Jani, Executive Director of Green Tech İdeaslab Sdn Bhd from Malaysia, spoke on behalf of the government agency working under Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change. She noted, "We promote many funding schemes as well as tax incentives for sustainable development projects in Malaysia. We hope that Azerbaijan's chairmanship of COP29 can bring much more clarity to the global climate process, financial solidarity, assessment of loss and damage, adaptation, and of course better coordination of action."

COP29, held from November 11 to 22 at Baku Stadium, is Azerbaijan's largest and most significant event to date, marking the first time the country has hosted a COP summit. The event witnessed the signing of a Host Country Agreement and other key documents between the Azerbaijani government and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat.

A central focus of COP29 is the agreement on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) for climate finance. The COP29 Presidency has introduced 14 initiatives linking climate action to the Sustainable Development Goals, covering green energy corridors, energy storage, climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction from organic waste, green digital technologies, and more. A proposed initiative is the creation of a Climate Finance Action Fund, with the goal of achieving the critical target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Azerbaijan's commitment to climate change mitigation and environmental protection has been evident in its efforts during COP29. The unanimous decision to elect Azerbaijan as the host for this summit underscores the international community's trust and respect for the country's leadership in climate action, as President Ilham Aliyev noted, reflecting global confidence in Azerbaijan's role.

By Tamilla Hasanova