COP29: $300b in climate finance approved, some left disappointed

The UN Climate Change Conference, or COP29, closed in the hours of Sunday morning with a deal adopted whereby developed countries will inject at least $300 billion annually by 2035 into the fight against climate change, aimed at helping developing nations cope with rising seas and extreme weather.

The $300 billion will go to developing countries which need the funds to transit to renewable energy, adapt to future warming and pay for the damage caused by climate impacts. It's three times the annual amount of $100 billion in a deal that is set to expire in 2025, but it's not close to the $1.3 trillion that developing countries were asking for and many expressed frustration.

Nations have been seeking financing to deliver on the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels – beyond which catastrophic climate impacts could occur. The world is currently on track for as much as 3.1 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of this century, according to the 2024 UN Emissions Gap report.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called the deal an "insurance policy for humanity," adding that like insurance, "it only works if the premiums are paid in full, and on time."

"It has been a difficult journey, but we've delivered a deal," he said. "This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing and protect billions of lives."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post on X that he had hoped for a "more ambitious outcome" but the agreement "provides a base on which to build."

Developing countries disappointed

Some developing countries were left disappointed by the deal, however, with India negotiator Chandni Raina calling the $300 billion "a paltry sum." 

"We absolutely object to the unfair means followed for adoption," Raina added. "We are extremely hurt by this action by the president and the secretariat."

A long line of nations agreed with India. Nigeria's Nkiruka Maduekwe, CEO of the National Council on Climate Change, called the deal an insult and a joke.

"I'm disappointed. It's definitely below the benchmark that we have been fighting for for so long," said Juan Carlos Monterrey, of the Panama delegation. He noted that a few changes, including the inclusion of the words "at least" before the number $300 billion and an opportunity for revision by 2030, helped push them to the finish line.

"Our heart goes out to all those nations that feel like they were walked over," he said.

Sierra Leone's climate minister, Jiwoh Abdulai, whose country is among the world's poorest, said it showed a "lack of goodwill" by developed nations, whose ranks include the United States, Japan and members of the European Union.

"We are extremely disappointed in the outcome," he said.

Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, a small atoll nation threatened by rising seas, said she would return home with a "small portion" of what she fought for. "It isn't nearly enough, but it's a start," she said.

The Alliance of Small Island States, the Least Developed Countries and the African Group of Negotiators, all influential developing-nation blocs, expressed disappointment with the deal.

Countries also hope the deal will send signals that help drive funding from other sources, like multilateral development banks and private sources. That was always part of the discussion at the COP29 talks: rich countries didn't think it was realistic to only rely on public funding sources, but poor countries worried that if the money came in loans instead of grants, it would send them sliding further backward into debt that they have already struggled with.

"The $300 billion goal is not enough, but is an important down payment toward a safer, more equitable future," said World Resources Institute President Ani Dasgupta. "This deal gets us off the starting block. Now the race is on to raise much more climate finance from a range of public and private sources, putting the whole financial system to work behind developing countries' transitions."

Other deals agreed at COP29

Several different texts adopted early on Sunday included a vague reference to last year's Global Stocktake approved in Dubai. The latest talks only referred to the Dubai deal, but did not explicitly repeat the call for a transition away from fossil fuels.

Countries also agreed on the adoption of Article 6, creating markets to trade carbon credits, an idea that was set up as part of the Paris Agreement to help nations work together to make faster progress in halving global emissions.

Important agreements were also reached on transparent climate reporting and adaptation.

(With input from agencies)