Climate Finance at COP 29: What New, Collective, Quantified Ambition?

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 29) will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, during 11-22 November 2024. Among the various agenda items, climate finance will be a key point of discussion. In particular, a decision is expected this year on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which is to be operationalised from 2025 as a replacement to the existing USD 100 billion commitment. Across the various ongoing discussions on finance – on Article 2.1c, MDB reform, L&D funding, inter alia – the NCQG is particularly important as a symbol of trust between developed and developing countries. It is also seen as a reflection of developed countries’ commitment, as principal historical polluters, to support the low-carbon development aspirations of developing countries. However, after nearly three years of technical and political discussions, there isn’t yet sufficient convergence on the goal’s overall quantum, types of financial support, thematic apportionment between mitigation and adaptation, or composition of contributor countries. Notably, the quantum is likely to remain small relative to other avenues of climate finance and to overall financing needs, although its transformative potential will depend on how it is operationalised. This webinar aims to summarise and contextualise the state of play on climate finance negotiations going into COP 29, with a focus on the NCQG. It will touch upon the role and relevance of the NCQG, how it might be made meaningful, how its outcome might affect other elements of climate diplomacy, and whether there are other discussions on climate finance that merit greater focus. Panelists: Joe Thwaites, Senior Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Jonathan Beynon, Senior Policy Associate, Center for Global Development (CGD) Avantika Goswami, Progamme Manager, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Moderated by Aman Srivastava, Fellow, SFC