COP29: Activists call on rich polluters to pay, urge Global South delegates to stand firm

Activists from the Global campaign to demand climate justice (DCJ) demonstrated once again Wednesday (Nov. 20) inside the COP29 venue in Baku.

They were demanding what they view as a just deal on financial compensation.

Negotiators at the UN’s climate talks are to clear away the technical part of talks to focus on substance.

“People from civil society and movements are calling for both the governments and not governments to pay up for climate finance and to pay up in the scale of trillions, not billions because communities on the front lines of the climate crisis in the global South need this money for adaptation and mitigation, but also for loss and damage because they’re bearing the brunt of a crisis they had the least role in causing.”

Vulnerable nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to deal with damage from climate change and to adapt to that change.

Kenyan climate activist Eric Njuguna calls on these representatives to stand firm in their position.

”We’re sending a message to Global South negotiators to hold the line, to not to barge at a time when Global North countries are pushing back and negotiating for lower amounts and pushing for even more private finance. Private finance is extremely dangerous because of the profit motive”

Experts agree that at least $1 trillion is called for, this is far more than industrialized nations have so far pledged to the loss and damage fun.

International public adaptation finance flows to developing countries increased from US$22 billion in 2021 to US$28 billion in 2022. This reflects progress towards the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact, which urged developed nations to at least double adaptation finance to developing countries from about US$19 billion in 2019 by 2025.

Speaking at the G20 summit which was drwaing to a close, the UN chief told the group that “the success of COP29 was largely in their hands.

Half the world away in Rio, Brazil, where the Group of 20 summit was wrapping up on Tuesday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the group of the world’s largest economies that “the success of COP29 is largely in your hands.

COP 29 in Azerbaijan ends on Friday (Nov. 22).