Climate summit drags on as proposed financing goal underwhelms

On the final bus shuttling from a UN climate conference site to the nearest metro station late Friday night, a group of volunteers in light-green uniforms burst into jubilant songs and enthusiastic cheers celebrating the conclusion of their two-week work.

However, for global climate negotiators gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), there is little reason to celebrate – daunting work remains for a deal on a new climate finance goal.

On Friday, the COP29 presidency announced renewed draft negotiating texts, proposing an annual climate finance goal of $1.3 trillion by 2035. Developed countries are expected to "take the lead" in supporting developing countries' climate actions with $250 billion per year.

This target is intended to replace the existing goal of mobilizing and providing $100 billion annually by developed countries to assist developing countries.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged a "major push" in climate negotiations, emphasizing the need for a "surge in finance." Yet, the renewed text still falls short of the expectations of many developing nations.

At a press conference Friday, Brazil's Minister of Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva said that the target figure published on COP29's final day is "insufficient" and represents only the "start of a journey."

Another Brazilian negotiator described the figure as "confusing," noting that many of Friday's efforts were spent on seeking clarity for the target's source, structure and size.

Inside the stadium housing the climate talks, a group of activists marched in silence along the hallway on Friday night, raising and crossing their arms as a symbolic rejection of the draft agreement.

Fadhel Kaboub, senior advisor at Kenya-based think tank Power Shift Africa, criticized the draft, saying that developed countries appear to be offering only to mobilize funds, not necessarily to provide them. He called it "poor-quality financing" that risks economically entrapping developing nations.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated at a press conference Friday the EU will live up to its responsibility "if we have a broader donor basis for this new funding mechanism."

Baerbock added the EU has repeatedly made it clear it wants to lead up front with its own ambitions, but "you do not make promises you cannot live up to."

The foreign minister noted a "rocky road ahead" in COP29 talks. "But one thing is clear: we will do everything we can until the end to live up to our responsibility at this cop as well, because we owe it to everyone," she said.

When asked whether the draft texts would pose challenges for next year's COP30 in Brazil, Silva said the issue is less about the upcoming event and more about the harm inflicted on the multilateral system, which has endured numerous challenges.

"The problem must be resolved at the COP. We cannot delay from COP to COP issues of practical, pressing and concrete nature," the minister said.