COP29: Wealthy nations agree to raise climate deal to $300 billion by 2035
BAKU – The European Union, United States, and other wealthy countries at the COP29 climate summit have agreed to raise their offer of a global finance target to $300 billion per year by 2035, sources told Reuters on Saturday.
The shift in position followed the rejection of a $250 billion deal proposal, drafted by Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency on Friday, which developing countries deemed insultingly low.
Five sources with knowledge of the closed-door discussions said the EU had agreed they could accept the higher number. Two of the sources said the United States, Australia, and Britain were also on board.
Before the updates, Irish Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said that any agreement reached at COP would need to be supplemented with additional sources of financing, such as a carbon emissions market where polluters pay to offset their emissions.
The amount agreed upon in the COP negotiations will then be mobilised or leveraged to increase climate spending. However, much of this would take the form of loans, which could further burden countries already drowning in debt.
The negotiations over financing for developing countries come in a year that scientists consider the hottest on record. Climate woes are intensifying in the wake of extreme heat, amplifying calls for increased funding to mitigate the crisis.
Widespread flooding has killed thousands across Africa this year, while deadly landslides have buried villages in Asia. Drought in South America has shrunk rivers—vital transport corridors—and undermined livelihoods.
Developed countries have not been spared either. Torrential rain in Valencia, Spain, last month triggered floods that claimed more than 200 lives. Meanwhile, the United States has experienced 24 billion-dollar disasters so far this year.
