As 198 nations convene in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 29th United Nations climate summit, one word will almost certainly dominate COP29 technical negotiations and private discussions: finance. After two years of record heat, prompting an unprecedented string of extreme weather disasters, there appears to finally be a global consensus that a climate crisis — devastating wealthy and poor nations alike with drought, wildfire, flooding and sea-level rise — can no longer be ignored. But a key consensus is still needed on how to mobilize the estimated $2 trillion by 2030 needed to rapidly transition national economies to a post-carbon world — fully converting to renewable energy and low-carbon transportation, while compensating countries in the Global South being ravaged by global warming impacts. “People keep talking about this COP as being the finance COP,” said Andrew Deutz, a finance expert and global policy and partnerships manager with WWF. “But to be honest, from this meeting going forward, every COP will be a finance COP.” A first significant step in this direction has been the discussion and, perhaps, adoption at COP29 of a new and ambitious financial target aimed at raising funds to support countries affected by the worsening impacts of climate change, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). While the specific details are yet to be determined, the discussions at COP29 could mirror how challenging it will be to find consensus on these new targets. Leaders have called for a fair and robust NCQG, while civil society has worried that…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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