The recently concluded Cop29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan has sparked intense backlash over its landmark climate finance deal, with some countries denouncing the agreement as a “travesty of justice” and a “global Ponzi scheme”. The contentious deal pledges $300 billion in annual climate financing by 2035, a figure that falls far short of the $1.3 trillion developing nations had called for to support their low-carbon transitions and climate adaptation efforts.
“Stage-Managed” Deal Ignores Developing Nations’ Needs
Critics argue that the $300 billion target, while a significant increase from the previous $100 billion commitment, is “abysmally poor” compared to what is needed to address the magnitude of the climate crisis. Developing countries, which have contributed the least to global carbon emissions but face the worst impacts, say the deal was pushed through without adequate consultation and ignores their urgent financing needs.
This document is little more than an optical illusion. It was completely a travesty of justice.
– Chandni Raina, Advisor, India Department of Economic Affairs
India’s lead negotiator Chandni Raina slammed the deal as “stage-managed”, claiming her country was denied the chance to register its dissent before the decision was gaveled through. She warned the flawed process could erode trust in UN climate negotiations.
Developed Nations “Throw Text” at Poorer Countries
Other developing nations echoed the sentiment that their interests were bulldozed by wealthy countries’ 11th-hour maneuvering. “Developed nations always throw text at us at the last minute, shove it down our throat, and then, for the sake of multilateralism, we always have to accept it,” lamented Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez, Panama’s climate envoy.
Negotiators from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) bloc, representing 45 nations and 1.1 billion people, walked out of a session claiming their pleas for equitable financing were “met with indifference”. Despite their vulnerability to rising seas and extreme weather, no specific funding was earmarked for the LDCs or low-lying island states in the final deal.
Calls for Fossil Fuel Industry to Pay Up
While some observers lauded the deal as a crucial, hard-fought diplomatic achievement, others lambasted the failure to hold the fossil fuel industry financially accountable. Despite reaping $1 trillion in annual profits for decades, oil and gas companies were not compelled to pay into the climate finance pool.
The destruction of our planet is avoidable, but not with this shabby and dishonorable deal.
– Nafkote Dabi, Climate Policy Lead, Oxfam International
An Imperfect Deal or “Global Ponzi Scheme”?
While the Cop29 agreement averted a complete diplomatic meltdown, it clearly fell short of many nations’ expectations. Supporters claim the $300 billion pledge represents the outer limits of what is currently achievable, given political constraints in wealthy countries. But for developing nations on the front lines of the climate emergency, it feels like too little, too late.
As the dust settles on the fraught Baku summit, the contentious climate finance deal risks further eroding the fragile trust and solidarity underpinning international climate cooperation. Failing to mobilize adequate resources for those most vulnerable to climate catastrophe, critics warn, is not just myopic but perilous – for people and planet alike.
