As the first week of COP29 draws to a close, “strong political will” will be needed to ensure that the core aim of the conference, agreement on a new climate finance target, can be met over the coming days in Baku, the World Resources Institute has said.
“We’re at the midpoint mark at COP29 and the intricacies of the finance negotiation continue to dominate the main stage,” Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO, World Resources Institute, commented.
“Success at this COP will largely be measured by one thing: whether countries collectively agree to deliver much more, higher-quality finance for climate action. This finance is fundamental to improving people’s lives and helping communities adapt to climate impacts, to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C, and for protecting and restoring nature.”
‘Bridge divisions’
As Dasgupta noted, over the past few days, negotiations in Baku have largely been grappling with the technical details, but the arrival of environmental ministers to COP29 over the coming days will likely focus minds.
“As we move into the final week of negotiations, we’ll need strong political will to build trust, bridge divisions between parties, and take us to the finish line,” he added.
“I’m optimistic that countries will coalesce around an ambitious overarching finance package here in Baku.”
Climate finance
Elsewhere, the World Resources Institute has published an article that provides an overview on the Joint Report on Climate Finance from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).
It noted that while progress has been made on MDB contributions to low- and middle-income countries, more transparency is needed, particularly around fossil fuel financing, while coordination is lacking between the various parties involved.
‘MDBs need to work as a system and with partners to deliver greater impact and scale,’ the Institute noted. Read the report here. [Photo: UN Climate Change]
