Baku, Azerbaijan – A coalition of leaders from industrialized nations and climate-vulnerable countries called for more ambitious climate funding on Wednesday at the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku.
“Trillions of dollars are required. We must urgently increase the amount of financing for climate action,” said a statement signed by leaders who are part of a so-called COP29 High Ambition Coalition.
“The climate crisis will become exponentially worse unless we act now,” the statement said.
“Developed countries must continue to take the lead and live up to existing finance commitments.” Innovative sources of financing must be developed, it added.
Germany, France, Spain and Canada, as well as several island nations and African countries, support the appeal.
Germany has pledged €6 billion ($6.4 billion) annually for climate financing starting next year. But previous budget plans revealed a shortfall in the allocation of these funds and climate activists warn Germany risks losing credibility if it fails to meet commitments.
Italy’s climate stance has worried partners since the election of far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. But she stated in Baku that she does not intend to withdraw from the international fight against the climate crisis.
“We must protect nature,” Meloni said, and put people at the “core” of policy.
However, she also told the gathering in the Azerbaijan capital that “an approach that is too ideological and not pragmatic on this matter risks taking us off the road to success.”
“Technology neutrality is the right approach,” she added, advocating for a “realistic global outlook.”
COP29 frets over Trump, nuclear risk
At present, she argued that there is still no alternative to fossil fuels. In addition to renewable energies, all available technologies must be used – including gas, biofuels, hydrogen and CO2 storage, she said.
According to the New York Times, US President-elect Donald Trump – seen as ideologically close to Meloni – is already preparing to again withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change and pave the way for more oil and gas drilling.
He did so in his previous spell as president before incumbent Joe Biden took the country back in.
Talk on the sidelines in Baku was dominated by the spectre of Trump and the safety of nuclear power.
But International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi told dpa that the threat of a military attack on a nuclear plant is not an argument against their operation.
He said the fact Russian troops occupied the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant during their invasion of Ukraine is an isolated case.
Turkey meanwhile put itself forward to host the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference, Climate Minister Murat Kurum said in Baku.
“As chair, Turkey will form a bridge between developed and developing countries,” Kurum added, without specifying which Turkish city was under consideration to host.
The conferences rotate between the world’s regions. Next year, Belém in Brazil will host COP30 on behalf of the Latin America and Caribbean region.
(dpa)