“Without finance, climate action will remain as just words,” said Teresa Anderson – the Global Climate Justice Lead at ActionAid International said, at a panel session held on the opening day of COP29, APA reports.
She said there is no such thing as a free lunch: "There is no such thing as a free climate target. If we are serious about climate action, we must pay for climate action. The climate crisis is deepening in countries that are doing almost nothing to cause the problem.
Therefore, there is a pressing need for COP29 to agree a new climate finance target that delivers trillions of dollars’ worth of real money to the big climate countries every year. And the rich countries that have been polluting the world for a century or more must finally pay real money to fight climate. Yet, so far, the rich countries have been evading their commitments."
She added that, unfortunately, rich countries are not taking climate finance seriously: “Instead of being prepared to put forward trillions of dollars in grant-based finance, they are playing with private finance to fill the gap. Developed countries are trying to minimize their grant-based contributions and instead meet the climate finance goal with loans, corporate investments and all sorts of potentially exploitative private finance loans. We call this private finance. But loans are not private finance and should not be classified as private finance. Loans actually make the climate crisis worse because debtor countries prioritize debt repayment over private action. And they are often forced to repay their debts with interest by expanding fossil fuel exports. So, granting climate finance loans can make the climate crisis worse. Rich countries are also trying to circumvent the rules by not being held accountable for their responsibilities and by making commitments to not finance climate.
COP29 is a test of the commitment of rich countries to ensure a livable planet. If we are to initiate climate action on a scale that can save our future, the countries that caused the climate crisis must pay to fix the mess."
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