COP29: Rich nations oppose but developing world sticks to $1.3tn/year demand

BAKU: As the new text diluting differences on the post-2025 climate finance goal continues to elude negotiators at COP29, different developing countries’ groups on Wednesday stuck to their demand of $1.3 trillion a year, amid opposition to this figure by developed nations.

With rich nations insisting to expand contributor base beyond developed countries, Bolivian negotiator Diego Pacheco, speaking on behalf of Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), said the developed countries are trying to shift their own responsibility onto developing countries, which is in violation of the Paris Agreement and not acceptable.

“We are not here to renegotiate the Paris Agreement. The discussions on NCQG cannot be used to change the Paris Agreement. That is a super red line for us,” he said. India and China are also part of LMDC group.


The new text on finance, called New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), is expected late Wednesday night or on Thursday, zeroing-down the negotiation on three issues — quantity, quality, and contributors. The quantity will replace the existing goal of an annual $100 billion, which was supposed to be mobilised during 2020-25.

Since developed countries have, so far, not put their number on the table, speculation is rife about different figures without any verified statement. All those speculated figures are, however, much lower than the annual $1.3 trillion, which was put forward by almost all developing countries, including India.

The developing countries, referring to obstacles during the negotiation process, emphasised that climate finance is not a charity. They insisted that it’s a legal obligation of developed nations to provide money to developing countries for taking measures to deal with climate change.