COP29 target for developing countries set at $300bn

After painstaking negotiations, COP29 in Baku delivered a third and final text for the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance, setting an annual target of $300bn for developing countries by 2035. This amount is to be mobilised from public and private sources. 

The new target follows significant pushback from developing countries such as SA after the first draft proposals, with Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries walking out of the plenary session. 

At this year’s “Finance COP”, developing countries called on developed economies to agree on a specific amount to assist them in combating climate change — because most current carbon emissions in the atmosphere were caused by the developed world, and because developing countries lack the resources to address the issue on their own. They called for a collective target of $1.3-trillion. 

After receiving severe pushback on the initial proposed deal of $250bn, developed countries at the eleventh hour settled on a final target of $300bn. While this represents a positive step forward, it remains significantly short of the $1.3-trillion target. 

But a new initiative introduced in the latest text, the Baku to Belém Roadmap, aims to scale up global climate finance to $1.3-trillion annually by 2035 through innovative funding mechanisms.

This initiative seeks to support the implementation of nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans, and other climate strategies in developing countries. Furthermore, it encourages the use of grants, concessional finance, and nondebt-creating instruments to enhance fiscal space for vulnerable nations. 

Considerable effort

Ali Mohamed, chair of the African Group of Negotiators, said: “We came into this process with clear expectations, as did all other parties. A multilateral process is by its nature a convergence of competing priorities and their vast realities.” 

He noted that while not all aspirations were fully reflected in the outcome, the group acknowledged the considerable effort made to balance these dynamics. 

“We are realistic about the journey ahead. These commitments are not acts of charity; they are acts of survival, shared prosperity, and solidarity. Climate finance is not a handout. It’s the moral economic imperative of our age.

“I want to remind all of us of Southern Africa’s concept of ubuntu: I am, because we are. When Africa loses, the world loses. When Africa thrives, the world thrives. History will judge us not by what we promised, but by what we delivered.” 

Gillian Hamilton, an experienced sustainability and climate change consultant and economist with SA’s  The Green Connection who had been highly critical of the previous New Collective Quantified Goal draft texts, told Business Day that the Baku to Belém Roadmap  “might be a positive element”.

Simon Stiell, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary, said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country. 

“It will help all countries to share in the huge benefits of bold climate action: more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all. But like any insurance policy, it only works if the premiums are paid in full, and on time.” 

He acknowledged that no country got everything they wanted, “and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps. We need to set our sights and redouble our efforts on the road to Belém. Even so, we’ve shown the UN Paris Agreement is delivering.” 

The text includes the following:

• Acknowledging needs: The final text acknowledges the financial needs of developing countries, estimating these at $5.1-6.8-trillion by 2030. Annual adaptation financing needs are projected at $215-387-trillion. It highlights the urgent gap between these needs and current financial flows. 
• Loss and damage: The text recognises the importance of addressing loss and damage and the associated economic and noneconomic impacts. However, there is still no dedicated subgoal or clear financial allocation for this critical area. 
• Debt-free financing as far as possible: The final document underscores the need for public and highly concessional financing, including nondebt-inducing instruments such as guarantees and first-loss instruments. It calls for efforts to triple annual outflows from multilateral funds by 2030​. 
• Access to funds: It also encourages simplification of application processes, the elimination of conditionalities, and the streamlining of reporting requirements to enhance access to finance for developing countries, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. 
• Transparency: The text introduces biennial progress reports beginning in 2028 and a review in 2030 to assess access to finance and implementation progress. 
• Clear road map still missing: The text reiterates the need for balance between mitigation and adaptation financing but does not provide clear ratios or guarantees of allocation. 

The text shows improvements compared with the earlier drafts in addressing systemic inequities, such as high capital costs and burdensome processes. However, practical implementation remains dependent on action by financial institutions. 

Department of forestry, fisheries & the environment spokesperson Peter Mbelengwa said the minister, Dion George, would comment on the final text later on Sunday.