Global leaders call for urgent action on climate finance, green goals at COP29

As global leaders gather at COP29, the focus on effective climate finance continues to intensify, with key figures highlighting the importance of action both within and beyond the COP negotiation process.

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), emphasized the need for cohesive and comprehensive strategies to address climate change on a global scale, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

Addressing the Parliamentary Meeting at COP29, Stiell noted that achieving effective climate finance is not only a matter of negotiations within the COP process but requires global action across all sectors. He called for stronger commitments to climate finance that go beyond just the formal negotiations, underlining the urgency of integrating climate action into broader global economic and policy frameworks.

The Executive Secretary, delivered a stark message about the global failure to adequately respond to the climate crisis. Stiell emphasized that climate action is a critically important issue for the survival and well-being of people across the planet, warning that the world is not doing enough to avert catastrophic consequences.

"Last month, we highlighted that our climate action is not keeping pace, both in the latest emissions gap report and in the summary report on nationally determined contributions," Stiell said.

He noted that the world is on track for global warming of 2.6 to 3.1 degrees Celsius—well above the 1.5-degree target necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. "This is well above the 1.5-degree target we realize we need to achieve to avoid the worst consequences humanity has ever faced," he added.

Stiell called on the global community to urgently increase climate ambition and adopt more aggressive policies to address the climate crisis. "Our stated plans cannot remain on paper, they must be realized, and we had better do it sooner. This is our last chance," he warned. The message was clear: without swift and decisive action, disaster awaits.

A key part of the solution, according to Stiell, is a transition to renewable energy sources. He stressed that renewable energy is the most efficient solution available for addressing the climate crisis and emphasized the need for a global shift towards sustainable energy systems.

In his closing remarks, the UNFCCC official also highlighted the importance of climate finance in driving the transition. He pointed to the new collective quantified climate finance target as a critical enabler for countries, especially those facing the greatest climate finance challenges.

"Nationally agreed contributions will be some of the most important documents of this century. They will catalyse growth and opportunity for all actors, and this is an opportunity that must not be missed," Stiell concluded.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Yerlan Nyssanbayev, expressed hope that COP29 will bring clarity to the ongoing debates surrounding green finance.

Speaking to reporters, Nyssanbayev stated that one of Kazakhstan’s primary expectations for the summit is to see a clear agreement on green finance.  

“We hope that an agreement on green finance will be reached at COP29,” Nyssanbayev said.

He emphasized that the key issue on the table is defining the goals and terms of green finance, an area that remains the subject of much debate. The minister highlighted the differing perspectives between developed and developing countries on green finance, yet reiterated that reaching an agreement on this issue is essential for advancing global climate goals.

“The most important expectation is to finally define the goals of green finance. There are a lot of questions and discussions around green finance, and this is the main issue that prefigures all our work,” the Kazakh minister added.

By Vafa Guliyeva