Posted on November, 19 2024

Baku, Azerbaijan (19 November): With climate finance negotiations at COP29 in Baku progressing slowly due to persistent divisions, it was hoped that a strong political signal from G20 countries would help inject new momentum into talks. However, the G20 leaders’ declaration published today in Rio de Janeiro doesn’t provide the clear signals hoped for. 

The declaration did reaffirm the G20’s commitment to scale up climate finance, but stopped short of providing direction on the preferred figure or other issues related to the new finance goal being negotiated at COP29 - known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). 

It was also disappointing to not see clearer language on fossil fuels. While G20 countries affirmed their commitment to deliver the recommendations of last year’s COP outcome - known as the Global Stocktake - and deliver 1.5oC aligned national climate plans, they did not explicitly mention the need to phase out fossil fuels to rapidly reduce emissions.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead, said: “This was not the clear political signal we were looking for from the G20. As a grouping of the highest emitting countries and holding 85% of global GDP, the G20 has a responsibility to lead on tackling the climate crisis. By not sending stronger signals on the level of climate finance required or the urgency to phase out all fossil fuels, they missed the opportunity to inject momentum into COP29. It’s now up to negotiators and ministers in Baku to forge consensus on enhanced climate finance and stronger action to ensure a strong outcome at COP29.”

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NOTES
 

WWF’s COP29 Expectations paper is available here

WWF’s expectations for NCQG are available in our finance discussion paper here

CONTACT

WWF International climate comms team: cop29-comms@wwfint.org  

Robin Harvey, WWF Media Relations Manager, WhatsApp: +44 7586 678 350

Izrael Muhamad, WWF Media Specialist, WhatsApp: +65 9455 7623

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