A total of 9,000 youths in the Niger Delta have acquired entrepreneurial skills in the LiveWIRE programme of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) since it was introduced in 2003 as part of efforts to boost employment opportunities among people aged between 18 and 35 years. The recipients were trained and supported with start-up grants and business mentorship enabling them to launch their own businesses and become employers of labour.
A cross section of some of the beneficiaries of the Shell LiveWIRE programme
The latest training, sponsored by the SPDC Joint Venture which includes the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, TotalEnergies and Nigerian Agip Oil Company, involved more than 1,000 young entrepreneurs from host communities in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states. They graduated last week in Port Harcourt having developed business plans and pitched them to experts as part of the training. Some 654 trainees were selected as best-performers.
“We’re delighted at the success of the LiveWIRE programme,” SPDC Director and Head Corporate Relations, Igo Weli, said at the graduation ceremony. “This training is set aside for young people from our host communities which means they can also enjoy the benefits of the programme and join the teeming number of entrepreneurs, several of whom now have the chance to participate in SPDC’s business as vendors. LIveWIRE is one of many ways through which Shell and her partners are powering progress in Nigeria.”
The graduation ceremony featured a technical conference with the theme, “Unlocking Growth: Leveraging Policies to Build an Inclusive Tech Eco System in the Niger Delta.” The keynote speaker, Iyke Kemabonta, and panelists, Soala Jumbo, Davies Awongo, Kalada Briggs, Vivien Ene and Ezieke Amaefula, challenged the beneficiaries to grow their businesses, overcome environmental challenges and enable the Niger Delta to reap the rewards of the programme.
Trainees from the 2023 Regional LiveWIRE programme from Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Edo states also joined the graduation ceremony. Beneficiaries were inducted into the LiveWIRE Alumni Group by three previous participants who now run their own businesses – Precious Adeho, Queen Esther Bolou-Ebi and Kalada Briggs. The trio encouraged the recipients to use the opportunity as launching pads into international recognition and success.
In a notable achievement, five previous beneficiaries won the LiveWIRE International “Go and Trade Enterprise Linkage Award” which enabled them to embark on trade visits to London, Dubai, Malaysia, and neighboring Ghana. Livewire Nigeria also offers beneficiaries the chance to compete for the Global Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators Award which comes with huge rewards.
LiveWIRE is Shell’s global enterprise development initiative for small businesses and is active in 18 countries. As of 2023, the programme had trained about 3,400 people and helped create more than 1,200 jobs around the world.
In his COP29 closing statement, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, says he had hoped for a more ambitious outcome, but that the agreement reached provides a base on which to build
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
COP29 comes at the close of a brutal year – a year seared by record temperatures, and scarred by climate disaster, all as emissions continue to rise.
Finance has been priority number one.
Developing countries swamped by debt, pummelled by disasters, and left behind in the renewables revolution, are in desperate need of funds.
An agreement at COP29 was absolutely essential to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive. And countries have delivered.
I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome – on both finance and mitigation – to meet the great challenge we face.
But this agreement provides a base on which to build.
It must be honoured in full and on time. Commitments must quickly become cash. All countries must come together to ensure the top-end of this new goal is met.
COP29 also builds on progress made last year on emissions reductions and accelerating the energy transition. And it reaches agreement on carbon marketsThis was a complex negotiation in an uncertain and divided geopolitical landscape. I commend everyone who worked hard to build consensus. You have shown that multilateralism – centred on the Paris Agreement – can find a path through the most difficult issues.
I appeal to governments to see this agreement as a foundation – and build on it.
First, countries must deliver new economy-wide national climate action plans – or NDCs – aligned with 1.5 degrees, well ahead of COP30 – as promised. The G20 countries, the biggest emitters, must lead.
These new plans must cover all emissions and the whole economy, accelerate fossil fuel phase out, and contribute to the energy transition goals agreed at COP28 – seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables.
The end of the fossil fuel age is an economic inevitability. New national plans must accelerate the shift, and help to ensure it comes with justice.
Second, we need swift action to deliver on commitments made in the Pact for the Future. Particularly on effective action on debt; increasing concessional finance and improving access; and substantially increasing the lending capacity of the Multilateral Development Banks, with adequate recapitalisation.
I thank the government of Azerbaijan for their hospitality – and COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, and his team, for their hard work.
I am grateful to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and his colleagues for their superb support – and of course the United Nations team.
And I commend all the delegates, young people, and civil society representatives who came to Baku to push parties for maximum ambition and justice.
I end with a message directly to them. Keep it up. The United Nations is with you. Our fight continues. And we will never give up.
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) closed on Sunday, November 24, 2024, with a new finance goal to help countries to protect their people and economies against climate disasters and share in the vast benefits of the clean energy boom.
COP29 closing plenary
With a central focus on climate finance, COP29 brought together nearly 200 countries in Baku, Azerbaijan, and reached a breakthrough agreement that will:
Triple public finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of $100 billion annually, to $300 billion annually by 2035.
Secure efforts of all actors to work together to scale up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources to the amount of $1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
Known formally as the New Collective Quantified on Climate Finance (NCQG), it was agreed after two weeks of intensive negotiations and several years of preparatory work, in a process that requires all nations to unanimously agree on every word of the agreement.
“This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. “But like any insurance policy – it only works – if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept, to protect billions of lives.”
“It will keep the clean energy boom growing, helping all countries to share in its huge benefits: more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all.”
The International Energy Agency expects global clean energy investment is set to exceed $2 trillion for the first time in 2024.
The new finance goal at COP29 builds on significant strides forward on global climate action at COP27, which agreed an historic Loss and Damage Fund, and COP28, which delivered a global agreement to transition away from all fossil fuels in energy systems swiftly and fairly, triple renewable energy and boost climate resilience.
COP29 also reached agreement on carbon markets – which several previous COPs had not been able to achieve. These agreements will help countries deliver their climate plans more quickly and make faster progress in halving global emissions this decade, as required by science.
Important agreements were also reached on transparent climate reporting and adaptation as summarised below.
Stiell also acknowledged that the agreement reached in Baku did not meet all Parties’ expectations, and substantially more work is still needed next year on several crucial issues.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work to do,” said Stiell. “The many other issues we need to progress may not be headlines but they are lifelines for billions of people. So, this is no time for victory laps, we need to set our sights and redouble our efforts on the road to Belem.”
The finance agreement at COP29 comes as stronger national climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) become due from all countries next year. These new climate plans must cover all greenhouse gases and all sectors, to keep the 1.5°C warming limit within reach. COP29 saw two G20 countries – the UK and Brazil – signal clearly that they plan to ramp up climate action in their NDCs 3.0, because they are entirely in the interests of their economies and peoples.
“We still have a very long road ahead, but here in Baku we took another important step forward,” said Stiell. “The UN Paris Agreement is humanity’s life-raft; there is nothing else. So here in Baku and all of the countries represented in this room we’re taking that journey forward together.”
A brief summary of other key achievements at COP29 follows below.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
A notable achievement during the past two weeks was the progress made on carbon markets. After nearly a decade of work, countries have agreed on the final building blocks that set out how carbon markets will operate under the Paris Agreement, making country-to-country trading and a carbon crediting mechanism fully operational.
On country-to-country trading (Article 6.2), the decision out of COP29 provides clarity on how countries will authorise the trade of carbon credits and how registries tracking this will operate. And there is now reassurance that environmental integrity will be ensured up front through technical reviews in a transparent process.
On day one of COP29, countries agreed standards for a centralised carbon market under the UN (Article 6.4 mechanism). This is good news for developing countries, who will benefit from new flows of finance. And it is particularly good news for least developed countries, who will get the capacity-building support they need to get a foothold in the market.
This mechanism, known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, is underpinned by mandatory checks for projects against strong environmental and human rights protections, including safeguards that ensure a project can’t go ahead without explicit, informed agreement from Indigenous Peoples. It also allows anyone affected by a project to appeal a decision or file a complaint.
Under the text agreed on Article 6.4, there is a clear mandate for the UN carbon market to align with science. It tasks the Body getting this market up and running to consider the best available science across all work going forward.
The work on carbon markets doesn’t stop in Baku. The Supervisory Body setting up the new carbon crediting mechanism has been handed a long 2025 to-do list by Parties and will continue to be accountable to them.
Transparency
Transparent climate reporting made big strides forward in Baku, building a stronger evidence base to strengthen climate policies over time, and helping to identify financing needs and opportunities. To date, 13 Parties have now submitted their first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR) – due from all Parties by the end of the year. Andorra, Azerbaijan, the European Union, Germany, Guyana, Japan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Netherlands, Panama, Singapore, Spain, and Türkiye have led the way on transparent climate reporting and set an example for others to follow. The list of received BTRs is continuously being updated here.
In addition, all transparency negotiating items concluded successfully at COP29, with Parties expressing their appreciation for the timely completion of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) reporting tools, the technical trainings, and the support provided to developing countries for reporting under the ETF that took place in 2024.
A total of 42 events were organised under #Together4Transparency, a UNFCCC collaborative initiative that promotes climate transparency with Parties and non-Party stakeholders. These events emphasized the vital role of transparency in preparing NDCs and net-zero pathways, as well as in recognizing climate action from non-Party stakeholders. Events included high-level sessions, mandated events and training sessions to prepare countries for their BTRs, as well as to equip technical experts for the upcoming review process.
The critical role of REDD+ was recognized through a £3 million pledge by the UK International Forest Unit to support UN Climate Change’s work over four years. This funding will bolster REDD+ activities in many countries, enabling the secretariat to create dedicated spaces for REDD+ experts to engage in technical dialogue. These efforts are expected to enhance the transparency and implementation of REDD+, in line with the Global Stocktake objective to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.
Adaptation
COP29 was an important moment for adaptation, with the delivery of several key outcomes. The COP decision on matters relating to the least developed countries (LDCs) contains a provision for the establishment of a support programme for the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for the LDCs. Parties extensively discussed the second five-year assessment of progress to formulate and implement NAPs and will continue that in June 2025.
A High-Level Dialogue on National Adaptation Plans convened ministers from least developed countries and small island developing States, financial experts and international donors to address the growing urgency of climate adaptation. Their discussions focused on innovative financing, technical support, and accelerated action to meet the 2025 submission deadline for NAPs. The event concluded with a strong call to action to expedite NAPs and translate plans into tangible outcomes.
The outcome on the global goal on adaptation sets a clear path forward on the road to COP30 for the indicators work programme, providing a process for experts to continue their technical work before passing the baton to Parties. COP29 also launched the Baku Adaptation Road Map and Baku high-level dialogue on adaptation to enhance the implementation of the UAE Framework. Finally, the outcome raises ambition by agreeing to continue unpacking transformational adaptation moving forward.
COP29 took a decisive step forward to elevate the voices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in climate action, adopting the Baku Workplan and renewing the mandate of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP). The adopted decision acknowledges the progress made by the FWG in fostering collaboration among Parties, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and underscores the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in addressing the climate crisis.
Gender and climate change
Countries agreed a decision on gender and climate change, extending the enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and Climate Change for another 10 years, reaffirming the importance of gender equality and advancing gender mainstreaming throughout the convention.
They also agreed to develop a new gender action plan for adoption at COP30, which will set the direction for concrete implementation.
Civil society participation, children and youth
World leaders at COP29 were joined by civil society, subnationals, business, Indigenous Peoples, youth, philanthropy, and international organisations. More than 55,000 people attended COP29 to share ideas, solutions, and build partnerships and coalitions.
The decisions taken at COP29 also reemphasize the critical importance of empowering all stakeholders to engage in climate action; in particular under Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE). Parties recalled the importance of integrating ACE elements into national climate change policies, plans, strategies and action, and noted the secretariat’s compendium of good practices for integrating ACE elements into NDCs.
COP29 marked a significant milestone as dedicated spaces were created to ensure the meaningful participation of children within the Youth-led Climate Forum for the first time. Four children, including the youngest at just 10 years old, took on roles as moderators and speakers, engaging directly with Parties and observer organizations. Their participation highlighted the importance of inclusivity and intergenerational collaboration in driving climate action.
In parallel with the formal negotiations, the Global Climate Action space at COP29 provided a platform for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate and showcase their real-world climate solutions. An overview and summary of these can be found here.
The High-Level Champions, under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, launched their 2024 Yearbook of Global Climate Action at COP29, showing that climate action by non-Party stakeholders, including businesses, investors, sub-national actors and civil society, is driving progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, and that their engagement is more crucial than ever.
The UN climate talks ended on Saturday night in Baku, Azerbaijan, following two weeks of intense negotiations, whose primary focus was establishing a new finance goal. The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) was aimed at ensuring developed nations provide the necessary financial support for developing nations towards mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.
COP29 President, Mukhtar Babayev, speaking at the official opening of COP29
However, developing nations are leaving Baku a disgruntled lot, frustrated with a drawn-out process that has fallen well short of delivering the at least $1 trillion figure in grant-based climate finance they were aiming for.
Instead, the outcome only proposes the “paltry” amount of $300 billion annually by 2035, which accounts for only 30% of the resources demanded by developing nations and owed to them by the developed world. It is also of note that this amount is expected to have a significant decrease by 3035 due to inflation. Furthermore, the deal includes loans, despite the recognition of the need for grants.
Developed nations also attempted to shift responsibility to developing nations to mobilise more domestic resources disregarding historical emissions and the disproportionate financial burden borne by climate-vulnerable nations.
This inequity was further compounded by the pervasive influence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP29, raising concerns about how their presence undermines interventions aimed at addressing the climate crisis.
In a swift reaction, Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said: “At COP29, developed nations once again coerced developing countries into accepting a financial deal woefully inadequate to address the gravity of our global climate crisis. The deal fails to provide the critical support required for developing countries to transition swiftly from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy systems, or to prepare for the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, leaving them severely under-resourced.
“The outcome offers false hope to those already bearing the brunt of climate disasters and abandons vulnerable communities and nations, leaving them to face these immense challenges alone. We must persist in our fight, demanding a significant increase in financing and holding developed countries to account for delivering real, impactful actions.”
Mohamed Adow, Director of climate and energy think tank Power Shift Africa, said: “This COP has been a disaster for the developing world. It’s a betrayal of both people and planet, by wealthy countries who claim to take climate change seriously.
“Rich countries have promised to ‘mobilise’ some funds in the future, rather than provide them now. The cheque is in the mail. But lives and livelihoods in vulnerable countries are being lost now. At this ‘Finance COP’ not a single dollar of real climate finance has been provided right now.
“Not only did the global north impose a low-ball finance figure, it comes into force 11 years from now. This deal is too little, too late.
“The rich world staged a great escape in Baku. With no real money on the table, and vague and unaccountable promises of funds to be mobilised, they are trying to shirk their climate finance obligations. Leaving the world without the resources needed to avert climate catastrophe. Poor countries needed to see clear, grant based, climate finance that would boost their ability to deal with the impacts of the climate crisis and accelerate their decarbonisation efforts. But that was sorely lacking.
“On the one hand the US is forcing the global south to accept a low finance figure in Baku because they say the Donald Trump administration will give even less next year. But at the same time, they are promising a ‘roadmap’ to mobilising $1.3 trillion in private finance next year in Brazil, when it will be a Trump appointed team representing the US.
“Baku will also be remembered for enabling rich polluters to cheat their way out of actual emission reductions through the use of dubious pollution permit markets. The carbon market rules will allow the richest to continue polluting, placing at risk the 1.5C target, while shifting the burden to developing countries.
“This has been a shamefully led summit by Azerbaijan which deserves to be a global embarrassment for the wealthy countries and the COP president that facilitated them to dodge their obligations.”
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of Climate Action Network, said: “This has been the most horrendous climate negotiations in years due to the bad faith of developed countries. This was meant to be the finance COP, but the Global North turned up with a plan to betray the Global South. In the end, we saw the same story play out, with developing countries being left little choice but to accept a bad deal. As civil society we called on developing countries to reject a bad deal, a deal that would betray the people in the Global South. We are not defeated; we will fight back home; we will be out in numbers and louder than ever. The fight is far from over.”
Ralph Regenvanu, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Environment for Vanuatu, said: “After two consecutive meetings hosted by nations whose economies depend on fossil fuel extraction, we continue to migrate away from holding global warming below 1.5⁰C – the stated goal of these meetings and the 2016 Paris Agreement.
“The commitments made in Baku – the dollar amounts pledged, and the emissions reductions promised – are not enough. They were never going to be enough. And even then, based on our experience with such pledges in the past, we know they will not be fulfilled.
“Just before the September United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Europe was hammered by unprecedented rain and flooding. Two months later, New York City was plagued by historic drought and brushfires. All throughout, large swathes of the Amazon rainforest burned hot enough to generate national emergencies. The inability of the Global North to make a dent in the climate crisis – much less derail it – is a global tragedy.”
Andreas Sieber, Policy Lead at 350.org, said: “In Baku, we saw the future of our planet and the dignity of countless lives diminished to the minimum, a concession to wealthy governments determined to evade their moral and financial responsibilities. What was presented as progress was, in reality, the lowest common denominator.
“Rich nations, led by the EU, USA, and Japan, failed to rise above this mediocrity, neglecting their historical responsibility. Their reluctance to prioritise ambition and equity leaves the most vulnerable without meaningful protection for their rights, lands, and future. The failure of this agreement underscores a troubling truth: those with the greatest capacity to lead continue to fall short when it matters most.”
Namrata Chowdhary, Head of Public Engagement at 350.org, said: “Once again, inequity has driven a hard bargain that the vulnerable have no choice but to accept. Rich countries have failed to honour their responsibilities and shown up with rigid unwillingness to meet this moment with the ambition required to address the climate crisis. As this deal gets pushed through in this dark, disappointing moment, we continue to stand in solidarity with those most impacted by both – a crisis they did not cause, and a result they could not influence.
“This deal has failed to meet the ambition needed, but as we’ve seen over the past two weeks in the halls of the COP venue and the many actions held across the world, hope and ambition are alive and well in the climate movement. We are already looking ahead and preparing to build new momentum in the global movement for climate justice, with a wave of campaigns and mobilisations focused on real solutions to the climate crisis.”
Nikki Reisch, CIEL’s Director of Climate & Energy Programme, said: “COP29 was a dumpster fire. Except it’s not trash that’s burning – it’s our planet. And developed countries are holding both the matches and the firehose. Their refusal to pay up for climate action and harm, or to phase out fossil fuels, in line with their legal obligations, denies Global South countries their due and puts a livable future at risk.
“Big polluters are to blame for this insulting outcome. For decades, they have diluted their legal obligations and blocked climate negotiations from tackling the climate crisis with the urgency, ambition, and equity needed. By allowing carbon removal offsets into the climate regime and fossil fuel lobbyists into these negotiations, they’ve blown loopholes through ambition and let the fox into the henhouse. The same rich countries that will not pony up resources to ensure a global transition away from fossil fuels are propping up the fossil fuel industry with trillions of dollars in subsidies and investments in new projects.
“By shirking their legal duties, big polluters sought to make the Paris Agreement go up in smoke. Accountability for the climate crisis will not end with the weak agreement reached at COP29. Civil society movements will keep demanding justice, and polluters will continue to be held accountable in courtrooms and the court of public opinion around the world. The climate hearings at the International Court of Justice in December offer a chance to clarify states’ legal obligations under international law. That clarity may prove a powerful antidote to the political inertia and lowest common denominator outcomes on full display in Baku.”
Erika Lennon, CIEL Senior Attorney, said: “Paying to pollute will never be a climate solution, and carbon markets will never be climate finance. Creating a Paris-sanctioned carbon market that could be more dangerous than the scandal-ridden voluntary carbon markets, is not a win for people or the planet. It’s a win for big polluters and carbon cowboys. And it does not make up for failing to provide public finance. Agreeing to weak rules that lack transparency, accountability, or meaningful oversight is not a cooperative approach for achieving more ambitious climate action, but a recipe for disaster.
“With the gavelling of standards on methodologies and removals, the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism has flung open its doors to removal activities that are nothing more than a dangerous distraction. Going forward it is essential to ensure this mechanism enforces its standards and properly ensures that other relevant international environmental agreements – including those that place a moratorium on geoengineering – apply to activities.”
Rachel Kennerley, CIEL Carbon Capture Global Campaigner, said: “We’ve witnessed a huge lobbying effort at this year’s climate talks from companies promoting speculative and unreliable carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as a climate solution. But CCS has repeatedly failed to deliver. Instead it serves only to create loopholes and justifications to allow polluters to keep on polluting.
“With 480 CCS lobbyists at COP29, it is clear the fossil fuel industry is investing heavily in selling CCS to secure their future despite the need for climate action. Unfortunately, countries seem to be buying into the pipe dream. The COP29 outcome wedges open windows for this proven to fail technology and other false solutions like carbon markets, gas, and hydrogen. Carbon Capture and Storage is siphoning away energy and money from the real climate action we need.”
Lien Vandamme, CIEL Senior Campaigner Human Rights and Climate Change, said: “The climate finance outcome shoved down climate-vulnerable countries’ throats at COP29 is the definition of a bad deal. The new climate finance goal of $300 billion is a drop in the ocean of the massive and growing needs, effectively denying any form of justice for those on the frontlines of the climate crisis and pushing developing countries deeper into debt. Without a real commitment to providing grants-based finance and riddled with loopholes to avoid any obligation to pay, this agreement is yet another demonstration of wealthy countries’ continued attempts to undermine the UN climate agreements and escape long-standing obligations under international law.
“The exclusion of loss and damage from the climate finance goal is outrageous. It denies major historical polluters’ obligations to remedy the massive harm that the climate crisis is causing, and the removal of all references to human rights from the finance goal is another indication that the climate negotiations are evolving in isolation from existing legal norms. A climate finance goal – especially one encompassing private finance – without human rights safeguards will compound harms to communities and ecosystems. The International Court of Justice’s upcoming clarification of the legal obligations of States in the context of climate change could not be timelier and more urgent.”
Sébastien Duyck, CIEL Senior Attorney and Human Rights and Climate Change Manager, said: “The climate emergency demands bold action fueled by public participation and accountability, yet COP29 fell far short of both these standards. Hosted in Azerbaijan, where dissent was crushed through arrests of civil society members and journalists ahead of the conference, the COP29 mirrored the host country’s disdain for basic rights.
“The UN compounded the problem by curtailing speech within the conference, even as fossil fuel lobbyists thrived, working to dilute climate commitments. If future COPs are to matter, States and the UN must reject corporate interference and fiercely protect the civic spaces needed to drive urgent climate action.”
Camilla Pollera, Human Rights and Climate Change Programme Associate, said: “COP29’s failure to prioritise gender justice is yet another demonstration of the wrong turn taken in Baku. Despite the critical need for ambitious gender-just climate outcomes, negotiations faced persistent pushbacks against anything that could strengthen the Lima Work Programme on Gender, culminating in a weak outcome. Women – in all their diversity – on the frontlines and standing up for environmental rights are facing unique threats, as they challenge the exploitation of land and natural resources while confronting entrenched gender discrimination.
“The final decision is a missed opportunity to ensure comprehensive protection and support for women environmental human rights defenders. The absence of a political commitment at the COP to protect their fundamental rights further marginalises their voices and weakens the pursuit of just and effective climate action. Now, the new Gender Action Plan must fill this gap.”
Least Developed Countries Group on Climate Change: “The Least Developed Countries Group on Climate Change is outraged and deeply hurt by the outcome of COP29. Once again, the countries most responsible for the climate crisis have failed us. We leave Baku without an ambitious climate finance goal, without concrete plans to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, and without the comprehensive support desperately needed for adaptation and loss and damage.
“This is not just a failure; it is a betrayal.
“Three years of relentless effort by the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) engaging in good faith, building solutions, and striving for justice have been casually dismissed. Powerful nations have shown no leadership, no ambition, and no regard for the lives of billions of people on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
“The just ended UN Climate Change Conference has proven what we feared: the voices of our 1.1 billion people have been ignored. Despite exhaustive efforts to collaborate with key players, our pleas were met with indifference. This outright dismissal erodes the fragile trust that underpins these negotiations and mocks the spirit of global solidarity.
“The bulldozed New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is a glaring symbol of this failure:
Ambition is absent – The NCQG falls woefully short of addressing the climate emergency’s scale and urgency.
The most vulnerable excluded – It ignores the needs of LDCs and SIDS, offering no minimum allocation for our groups.
Loss and Damage dismissed – The plan lacks meaningful support, leaving our communities to suffer without recourse.
Access denied – Weak and vague commitments fail to improve access to climate finance for the most vulnerable.
Undefined Climate Finance – A lack of clear definitions undermines transparency, leaving the door open for manipulation and inaction.
Established mechanisms sidelined: There are no guarantees of finance flowing through trusted entities under the Convention and Paris Agreement.
“This outcome is a travesty. It sacrifices the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable to protect the narrow interests of those who created this crisis. It prioritises profits and convenience over survival and justice.”
Phil Bloomer, Executive Director of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, said:“The COP29 finance agreement is a major disappointment for Global South peoples and governments. Rich countries have failed to deliver the finance that is needed to help developing country governments to decarbonise, adapt to the worsening climate, and repair the loss and damage from flooding and fire that is already upon them. Instead, rich countries are committing to £300 billion per year, and wishing the other $1 trillion will come from business, investors, and multilateral banks.
“There is certainly a lot of private money available – private equity and venture capital alone have an estimated $2.6 trillion in ‘dry powder’ or capital searching for profitable projects. Rich countries want much of their $300 billion to be used to ‘de-risk’ and so ‘crowd-in’ private investment in developing countries – effectively a subsidy to prospective investors.
“With this level of dependence on private capital confirmed in Baku, rich countries have an immediate obligation to at least ensure the business regulation that will ensure that their benefitting companies respect human and environmental rights in developing countries. The transition to green economies must build public trust through investment plans that deliver shared prosperity, corporate due diligence, and fair negotiations with communities and workers.”
Fred Njehu, Pan-African Political Strategist, Greenpeace Africa, stated: “The Global North’s offer again isn’t just inadequate – it’s an insult to every African already suffering from climate disasters. This isn’t climate finance – it’s climate colonialism. While our continent burns, floods, and starves from a crisis we didn’t create, wealthy nations offer pennies while pocketing billions in fossil fuel profits.
“This finance deal is a masterclass in historical injustice. It betrays climate justice and mocks the polluter pays principle. The same nations who built their wealth on fossil fuels to prosperity now expect us to shoulder the devastating costs of their actions with pocket change.
“The Global North’s hollow promises won’t feed those displaced by drought or rebuild communities destroyed by floods. But Africa’s spirit remains unbroken. We will carry our demands for climate justice to Belem, insisting that polluters finally pay their fair share for the destruction they’ve caused.”
In response to the agreement on Article 6, which provides for carbon markets trading, Dr. Lamfu Yengong, Greenpeace Africa’s Forest Campaigner and an expert on Africa’s coveted Congo Basin, said: “The carbon market mechanisms agreed in Baku are nothing, but a neo-colonial scheme dressed up as climate action. Our forests and lands are being eyed as convenient carbon dumps while fossil fuel companies continue their destructive business as usual.
“We refuse to let Africa’s natural heritage become a cheap offset playground for polluters from the Global North. These carbon markets are designed to let wealthy nations and corporations buy their way out of real emissions cuts while turning our communities into carbon accounting projects. We will continue to stand up and fight back against them.
“The path to COP30 in Belem must recognise that real climate action means keeping fossil fuels in the ground and supporting Africa’s sustainable development – not creating new markets for pollution permits. Our forests are our life, not their offset opportunity.”
Jasper Inventor, Head of COP29 Greenpeace Delegation in Baku, said: “The agreed finance goal is woefully inadequate and overshadowed by the level of despair and scale of action needed. The best and worst of multilateralism saw isolated blockers and difficult talks stymie change before a deal was brokered at the death knell.
“Our true opponents are the fossil fuel merchants of despair and reckless nature destroyers who hide snugly behind every government’s low climate ambition. Their lobbyists must be disallowed, and leaders need to summon the courage to get on the right side of history.”
“People are fed up, and disillusioned, but we’ll persist and resist because this is a fight for our future! We will not give up. As we look to COP30 in Belem, we must hold on to hope – hope that is firmly anchored on people demanding climate ambition.”
Ottmar Edenhofer, climate economist and Co-Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said: “The climate summit in Baku was not a success, but at best the avoidance of a diplomatic disaster. It is now abundantly clear that we need additional negotiation formats for the global fight against the climate crisis. Not all of the almost 200 signatory states to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change necessarily have to sit around the same table for progress to be made.
“It is now important to link climate financing for the Global South, which was the main topic of discussion in Baku, to emissions reduction in two ways. First, donor states in the wealthy North should mobilise the funds by pricing oil, coal and gas. Second, the money should ideally only flow if the recipient country demonstrably reduces their greenhouse gas emissions. Perhaps such a system can be established at future climate summits, but it is more likely to happen through smaller groups, in so-called climate clubs.”
Johan Rockström, Earth system scientist and Co-Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said: “The Baku agreement of raising 300 billion dollars of public money annually from multiple sources by 2035 fails on several accounts. Too little, too late, from too many sources. Global emissions must be reduced by 7.5 percent per year to avoid unmanageable global outcomes as the world breaches the 1.5°C limit. Starting by taking off 3 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2025.
“We cannot wait for public climate finance another 10 years, by which time loss-and-damage costs will have gone through the roof. Our only chance is full focus on financing and implementing emission cuts now. Furthermore, to solve the climate crisis we need to redirect the entire global economy away from fossil-fuel based growth. Private funding is necessary, but well beyond the critical public climate finance through collective action among nations in the world.”
Governor Mallam Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has flagged off the departure of 30 newly recruited “master technicians” to China for specialised training in agricultural mechanisation. The programme is part of the state’s broader strategy to modernise agriculture and enhance productivity through advanced technology and capacity building.
Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa State
Speaking during the farewell event at the Council Chambers of the Government House, Dutse, the state capital, the governor described the initiative as a landmark moment in the state’s agricultural history.
He reiterated that agriculture remains the basis of Jigawa State’s economy and stressed the government’s commitment to mechanising farming practices to boost proficiency and reduce manual labour.
To facilitate this transformation, 60 service centres have been established across the state, along with the appointment of a managing director for the Jigawa State Farm Mechanisation Programme, a fully independent company registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission. The company will oversee the deployment of farm machinery and ensure its maintenance and operational sustainability.
According to Governor Namadi, the state government has already made substantial progress in this regard, including the procurement of 300 tractors, 60 combine harvesters, disc ploughs, sprayers, and other essential farm implements.
He also announced that 65% of the payment for the machinery has been made, with the remaining 35% expected to be completed by the end of next month. Deliveries of the equipment are anticipated to begin by late December 2024 or early January 2025, he said.
The governor emphasised that these machines would be made accessible to farmers across the state through the service centers, where farmers can be able to hire tractors and other equipment at heavily subsidised rates, ensuring affordability and sustainability of the programme.
“Our goal is to ensure the mechanisation of agriculture, making these tractors available to all farmers in the state. All farmers have to do is visit any of the service centres, request a tractor, and the tractor will be delivered to their farms to render services.”
He stated that the 30 technicians traveling to China would undergo six to eight weeks of training in agricultural equipment maintenance and operation. These individuals, who are graduates with engineering and agricultural engineering backgrounds, are expected to return as master technicians equipped to manage the service centers and maintain the machinery.
“To further guarantee the success of this programme, we are sending 30 graduates to China today for training as master technicians. These individuals, ladies and gentlemen, are all engineering graduates, most of whom have agricultural engineering backgrounds. They will be trained to maintain and ensure the efficient operation of these equipments. These young graduates will become the lifeline of our agricultural modernisation Programme, and that is why their role is so crucial.”
The training programme is part of a comprehensive capacity-building initiative under the Jigawa Agricultural Mechanisation Support System (JAMSS). In total, the programme will train 2,726 individuals in various specialisations, including tractor operation, fleet management, and service centre management. The initiative is expected to create approximately 8,000 indirect jobs while servicing a minimum of 180,000 hectares annually.
“This is not just about agriculture; it is about building a legacy. By modernising agriculture, we are securing the future of Jigawa State and creating opportunities for generations to come,” the governor remarked.
The Jigawa Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is projected to not only revolutionise farming practices in the state but also position Jigawa as a leader in agricultural innovation in Nigeria.
In what observers have described as a disappointing and dangerous outcome at the UN’s climate change conference COP29, governments have agreed to an “alarming” decision to pass through final documents that adopt crucial final aspects of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan
The decision has reportedly sparked outrage among civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and climate justice groups who recognise carbon markets for what they are – a false solution that detracts from the systemic changes needed to address the root causes of the climate crisis.
According to observers, the decision to proceed with Article 6 carbon markets seems to ignore mounting evidence that they do not deliver real emissions reductions and often lead to human rights abuses, land grabs, and violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples
“They offer a distraction from genuine solutions like just transitions, restoration of natural ecosystems, and support for community-led initiatives that address the climate crisis at its roots. They offer permits to pollute for the biggest polluting industries.
“Article 6 is not a solution to the climate crisis. It opens the door to a new global carbon market linked to Nationally Determined Contributions and will guarantee fossil fuel extraction and false solutions for decades to come.
“Geoengineering, like other false solutions, does not address the root causes of the climate crisis and relies on techno-fixes that are risky, speculative and likely to introduce grave new environmental and social threats, which will only worsen the climate chaos,” submitted the Hands Off Mother Earth! (HOME) Alliance, a network that campaigns against the growing threat of large-scale technological manipulation of the climate and biodiversity.
Just two weeks ago, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16 made a decision to reinforce the precautionary approach to geoengineering and reaffirmed the call for a global moratorium on geoengineering.
“The decisions made at UNFCCC COP29 could undermine precaution on geoengineering called for by the biodiversity convention, which is a sister convention and this, and there should be coherence between both of them.”
Tamra Gilbertson, Indigenous Environmental Network, said: “The carbon markets in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement were pushed through COP29 in a take it or leave it outcome. The lack of transparency and diplomacy signals a new dangerous era in climate change negotiations with the UNFCCC acting on behalf of the petrol states with impunity. Our next steps must ensure that geoengineering like carbon capture and storage and other false solutions that violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples are stopped.”
Linda Schneider, Heinrich Böll Foundation, said: “It is very worrying that under the agreement reached here on the Article 6.4 carbon market mechanism, carbon markets have been expanded to include carbon removals, such as dangerous geoengineering proposals for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“These as-yet-unproven technologies come with large-scale risks for people and ecosystems and are yet another escape hatch for the fossil fuel industry. The carbon trading schemes agreed here might facilitate the commercial roll-out of high-risk geoengineering technologies for the purpose of offsetting. Governments must work to exclude geoengineering approaches at the next COP as they will only add to climate chaos and make already flawed carbon markets even more problematic.”
Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Friends of the Earth International, said: “The supposed ‘COP of climate finance’ has turned into the ‘COP of false solutions’. The UN has given its stamp of approval to fraudulent and failed carbon markets. We have seen the impacts of these schemes: land grabs, Indigenous Peoples’ and human rights violations. The now operationalised UN global carbon market may well be worse than existing voluntary ones and will continue to provide a get out of jail free card to Big Polluters whilst devastating communities and ecosystems.”
Coraina de la Plaza, Global Coordinator, Hands Off Mother Earth Alliance, said: “COP29 got off to a very bad start by perpetuating the colonial model and human rights violations, and by opening the floodgates to geoengineering through the adoption of Article 6.4 on carbon markets. Unfortunately, it has ended as badly as it began – the lack of ambition and finance by developed countries and the promotion of false solutions to address climate change will be mostly suffered by those who have contributed the least to this crisis.”
Alejandro Jaimes, Alliance of Non-Governmental Radical Youth (ANGRY), said: “Complex negotiation language is not the answer to fight the climate crisis. Carbon market mechanisms currently being adopted at COP29 poses an immense threat to grassroots movements whose resistance does not deserve even more negligence from governments and more greed from companies. Today’s results do not represent people’s demands and will never do it if grassroots participation is not being prioritised. We, as youth, are saying no to the commodification of nature and life.”
The world’s forests will be better protected after support announced on Friday, November 22, 2024, by the UK to help countries with vital tropical forests conserve nature, livelihoods and wildlife.
UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband
At the COP29 summit in Baku, the UK has pledged £239 million to tackle deforestation in countries, including Colombia and Indonesia, recognising the critical role of forests in those countries as “carbon sinks” that absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere annually than the UK and USA emit combined.
The last government’s commitment to £11.6 billion of climate finance from 2021/22 to 2025/26 will continue to be honoured. This includes at least £3 billion on nature, from which £1.5 billion will be dedicated to protecting and restoring forests.
Halting and reversing forest loss is essential to keeping global heating under 1.5°C, delivering the UK’s global commitments to protect biodiversity, and meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Tropical forests are home to two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity and 80 percent of global terrestrial biodiversity. Wildlife such as orangutangs, tigers and jaguars are under threat, and 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods.
During COP29 in Baku the Government highlighted the value of forests in ensuring a liveable climate, where people, animals and flora can thrive. The pledge was made alongside representatives of the presidencies for COP29 in Azerbaijan and COP30 in Brazil.
Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, said:“Forests are the lungs of our planet – without them climate security is impossible. We’re determined to play our part in mobilising finance to protect and restore global forests in these critical years for climate action.
“The climate crisis has no borders and these issues impact people back home in the UK – we’re already seeing the damage flooding and record heatwaves can do to businesses and the most vulnerable in our communities.
“Providing this funding now helps prevent the escalating costs of climate catastrophe at home and abroad, this is what the UK means by climate leadership.”
The £239 million funding announced today comprises:
£188 million funding to the Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions (SCALE) programme, to support the development of high-integrity forest carbon markets to ensure the buying and selling of carbon credits to drive emission reductions. This comes as the UK Government confirms it intends to improve the integrity and use of voluntary carbon and nature markets.
£48 million for blended finance to unlock private investment in sustainable forest enterprises across the tropical forest belt. The Mobilising Finance for Forests programme provides financing to companies and investors to encourage them to invest more in activities that protect and restore forests.
£3 million for the UNFCCC to help countries protect their forests and realise their full climate change mitigation potential by reducing deforestation, restoring forests and providing benefits to local communities that depend on forests.
These measures will unlock private and public financing to safeguard forest ecosystems, drive restoration efforts, and create sustainable opportunities for the communities who rely on them. This also reflects the Government’s commitment to the COP26 forest pledge, which aims to reverse forest loss by 2030.
The Government has also announced 20 projects which will receive funding from Round One of the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) Grants Programme. These projects will deliver lasting change to the marine environment and coast communities across the world.
UK Special Representative for Nature, Ruth Davis, said: “Urgent action is needed to address the nature and climate crisis – we cannot tackle one crisis while ignoring the other. Global cooperation is vital to improve the health and resilience of our planet for future generations.
“At COP29, the UK continues to lead the way – providing vital funding for forests and oceans and working to ensure the global economy functions in a way that protects and restores nature.”
In an event aimed at advancing sustainable agricultural practices, the PrAEctiCe, a Horizon Europe project funded by the European Union, hosted an Online Agroecology Summit, bringing together a diverse array of participants, including Indigenous farming communities, researchers, government representatives, and industry stakeholders.
Agroecology practice
The “Facilitating Agroecological Transition among Smallholder Farmers through Technology and Innovation” summit focused on enhancing agroecological practices across Africa.
The summit served as a platform for dialogue on integrating technology and innovation into smallholder farming, aiming to create climate-smart agri-food systems that align with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Participants discussed the critical role of agroecological aquaculture systems within Africa’s food system, addressing current challenges and exploring future opportunities.
Key discussions revolved around implementing frameworks for adopting agroecological practices, fostering stakeholder collaboration, and empowering smallholder aquaculture producers. The event underscored the importance of collective action in driving sustainable agricultural transformation, highlighting how technology can support traditional practices and improve food security across the continent to enhance the resilience of smallholder farmers.
The event showcased how advanced technologies like remote sensing, digital data, and Geographic Information Systems enhance sustainable smallholder aquaculture operations’ efficiency, selection, and monitoring. The emphasis was on the integration of digitisation and innovation in agroecological practices.
Prof. Domen Mongus from the University of Maribor presented the PrAEctiCe project’s key technology, a Digital Decision Support Tool being developed through the project to facilitate the transition to agroecology for smallholder farmers in East Africa. The tool will be available as an App for farmers and advisors.
The tool prioritises quality data input and will serve as a monitoring centre to digest data collected from farms and agricultural locations registered. The App for farmers will hold usable information, and the advisors’ App will include a higher management tool.
Lopo Carvalho, Technical and Commercial Consultant at Aquagri, noted that the challenge for smallholder farmers is the limited capacity to use sensors to gather data, so a database with simple indicators will be available for farmers to report from. The interactive platform of feeding, digesting, and outputting usable information will also account for digital inclusion and literacy. Stakeholders who have no smartphones will receive notifications and information through Multimedia Messaging Services or text messaging and will have access to their advisors for guidance.
Million Belay, General Coordinator of AFSA, delivered a keynote address: “The role of agroecology in sustainably enhancing productivity, food security, and profitability of global food systems.” He optimistically said, “Our Kenyan partners are launching an agroecology policy in Kenya. Many things are happening, and the wind is shifting to agroecology.”
During a summary of breakout sessions, Nicholas Outa a PhD Scholar in Fisheries and Aquaculture at Maseno University, emphasised that we should view this knowledge as valuable rather than inferior. It serves as a rich reservoir of practical wisdom cultivated over generations that can enhance contemporary farming practices. Outa also highlighted the importance of co-creation between researchers, policymakers, and Indigenous farmers.
Prof. Harun Okello, an agroecology specialist at Maseno University, advocated for a shift in agricultural decision-making processes, asserting, “We should help farmers by moving findings from the field to the table where decisions are made.”
The statement underscores the necessity of involving male and female farmers in discussions about agricultural advancements and policies directly affecting their livelihoods.
In conclusion, the summit promoted strengthening the food system’s resilience through sustainable agricultural productivity, creating opportunities for employment and trade for women and youth in Africa by combining traditional agricultural knowledge with modern digital tools.
The project will hold Open Days at its three living labs in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania during the latter half of the project. These events will showcase the technologies that validate the Decision Support Tool data and prove the agroecology systems’ scalability in optimising farming practices. The aim is to demonstrate the potential and benefits of agroecological methods to stakeholders and the public.
Amb Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chair of the African Group of Negotiators, on Saturday, November 24, 2024, responds to the latest text on the New Collective Quantified Goal, and warns that time is running out for negotiations
Ali Mohamed, Chair, African Group of Negotiators (AGN)
As the world awaits the outcomes of the COP negotiations in Baku, Amb Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chair of the African Group of Negotiators, reiterates Africa’s steadfast commitment to securing an ambitious, inclusive, and equitable New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), and expresses readiness to reach a meaningful agreement that addresses the needs of vulnerable nations while cautioning against proposals that risk undermining the core principles of the Paris Agreement.
Amb Mohamed says: At this 11th hour of the COP – with an extra day, we must have inclusive approaches so that no Parties are left behind. As African Group, we are prepared to reach agreement here in Baku, and indeed we must reach an ambitious agreement in all respects, but we are not prepared to accept things that cross our red lines.
Disappointed with suggestions in the current bridging proposal
Amb Mohamed calls on all Parties to adopt an inclusive approach, ensuring no country is left behind in the decision-making process. At the same time, he expresses disappointment with aspects of the current bridging proposal from the COP Presidency, noting that it fails to adequately reflect the priorities and positions of developing nations, particularly those most vulnerable to climate change impacts, such as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Key concerns with the draft proposals
The African Group raises several concerns regarding the latest text, including:
1: Equity in climate finance responsibilities: The African Group rejects provisions suggesting that African countries could contribute to the NCQG, emphasising that the goal must remain a commitment by developed countries to mobilise resources for developing nations. This is consistent with the Paris Agreement and the precedent set by the $100 billion goal.
Amb Mohamed says: We call for our partners to show greater flexibility, and to respect a comprehensive reading of the Paris Agreement. In reaction to the NCQG bridging proposal from the Presidency, the African Group is deeply disappointed and unable to work with certain elements. In particular, the elements of the formulation of the goal that would render African countries contributors to the new goal, remain deeply problematic and unacceptable.
2: Inadequate quantum of finance: The proposed quantum of $300 billion falls far short of the estimated $5.1–6.8 trillion needed for climate action by 2030. Adjusted for inflation, this figure is even lower than the $100 billion promised in 2009. Such an insufficient target undermines the aspirations of developing countries and risks repeating the shortcomings of previous goals.
3: Clarifications on terminology and mandates: The African Group emphasises the need for clarity in the draft text, as follows:
Amendments to Paragraph 5 to prioritise the evolving needs of vulnerable nations. Deletion of ambiguous language in Paragraph 7 that lacks actionable meaning. Opposition to redefining the mandate of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in Paragraph 23, ensuring their focus remains aligned with mobilising climate finance.
4: Defining financial instruments and sources: In Paragraph 8, the African Group calls for a clearer articulation of financial instruments, explicitly including grants, non-debt instruments, and concessional finance. It also opposes the inclusion of all outflows from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), recommending that only climate finance-related flows be considered.
5: Ensuring transparency and accountability: The Group calls for the NCQG review process (Paragraph 33) to prioritise quantifiable financial targets before addressing qualitative elements, ensuring transparency in the implementation of commitments.
Proposals for improvement
The African Group proposes alternative language to strengthen the text, including:
• Replacing ambiguous provisions with specific, action-oriented language derived from the Paris Agreement. • Addressing gaps in the draft, such as the omission of critical financial instruments. • Reflecting the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable nations in all aspects of the NCQG.
A warning against regression
The African Group cautions against a repetition of past failures, such as the inadequate implementation of the $100 billion annual goal, which would undermine the delivery of the Paris Agreement’s aims. We are deeply concerned about proposals that would lead to a regression in global climate finance and risk the effectiveness of the NCQG.
Our commitment to constructive engagement
Despite these concerns, we, the African Group, reaffirm our willingness to engage constructively to reach an agreement in Baku, and call on all Parties to demonstrate flexibility, uphold the principles of equity and fairness, and ensure that the NCQG reflects the realities of developing nations.
We urge all Parties to remember the vulnerable communities who look to us for action. We stand ready to work toward an ambitious and equitable agreement in Baku, but we cannot compromise on principles that protect the interests of developing countries.
As COP29 dragged into overtime the expected climate finance target of at least $1.3 trillions of dollars shrunk to an offer of $250 billion per year from 2035. After much bickering the rich countries decided to raise its offer from $250 billion to $300 billion. This does not indicate that there is a consensus about the urgency for developed nations to pay up for squandering the carbon budget and bringing the world to the brink of climate change catastrophe.
Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey
Additionally, by pushing the date for providing needed funds a decade down the road, it does appear that there is no consideration about what the scale of the climate disasters may be by 2035 and what would be the value of $250 or $300 billion then. Developing, vulnerable and poor nations have rightly insisted that whatever funds are made available must not come as loans or instruments that would increase their already huge debt burdens.
Another sad fact is that any offer made is basically nothing more than an offer as the pledges are not enforceable by law. In 2009 the pledge was to pay $10 billion yearly from 2010 to 2020 and raise that to $100 billion from 2020. Those targets never materialised. The polluters never want to accept responsibility for the climate crisis, or to support the poor vulnerable nations financially at scale.
The COP is an arena for geopolitical games, with polluters arrogantly making it seem they are doling out charity to climate victims. When negotiators throw out statistics and speak of temperature and finance targets the tendency is for us to forget about climate change affects real people and not mere numbers.
Little consideration is given to the victims, and the billions of dollars they are already investing on their own in their desperate struggles to survive the onslaught of floods, droughts and destruction.
COP29 ended on a whimper, and as a big disappointment on many fronts. It had opened with a broad acceptance of Article 6.4 thus literally opening the floodgates for carbon markets and other elements of carbon market environmentalism. Rather than cutting emissions at source, nations and carbon speculators had a field day raising the banners of false solutions including those promoting carbon colonialism through carbon trading and geoengineering. Some even projected nuclear and fossil gas as clean energy pathways.
Whereas at COP28 there was a decision to transition away from fossil fuels for energy, at this COP that reference is completely off the table except by merely referencing “article 28” of the UAE outcome document. That must have ranked as a huge success for the petrostates and the over 1750 fossil fuels lobbyists at the COP who do not mind burning down the planet if there is a chance of inheriting the ashes. However, there was a strong presence of civil society and indigenous activists calling for a Yasunizationof the world. Their cry, Yasunize the World, echoed the decisive vote of Ecuadorians to keep crude oil in the soil at Yasuni ITT oil field.
The COP, labeled a Climate COP, crawled on divergent tracks towards achieving a level of climate finance with parties marching without moving, regarding levels of climate action ambition. Talks of loss and damage and other instruments of climate finance became largely muted. In their place emerged a contentious concept of New Collective Quantitative Goals (NCQG) – a phantom possibly aimed at erasing the justice base of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) by requiring that everyone contributes to the finance pot in the same thought pattern that birthed the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), the hallmark of voluntary emissions reduction according to convenience.
Perhaps an extension of the NCQG logic made a Nigerian minister to contentiously claim that China and India are not developing countries. This claim aligns with the assertions of some developed nations intent on breaking the solidarity within developing nations and thereby avoiding doing their fair share regarding climate finance and other actions. Truth is that China and India remain squarely within the geopolitical and economic grouping of developing nations because “developing” cannot be a tag reserved for nations in economic stagnation or regression.
Now is a critical moment for vulnerable nations and allies to stand together in the determination that justice must remain the bedrock of climate negotiations and action. Historical responsibility must align with commensurate action and everyone should humbly accept this fact because, although huge investments are being made in intergalactic pursuits, we have only one Earth.
Bassey, director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, was at COP29
