New Delhi: A new global climate finance target at the COP29 climate change conference will not be enough to cut toxic emissions and countries must do more to reform the global financial system, a top United Nations official has said. United.

“We need to agree on a new global climate finance target. If at least two-thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in his opening statement at the 29th UN Conference. The parties (COP29) that started today in Baku, Azerbaijan. The summit will end on November 22.

“If nations cannot build resilience into their supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune,” Stiell said.

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Mobilizing support for the New Quantified Collective Goal (NCQG) on climate finance is a top priority at the climate conference. The NCQG will be a replacement for the $100 billion that developed countries were supposed to contribute annually to the climate fund.

“An ambitious new climate finance target is entirely in the interests of every nation, including the largest and richest nation, but it is not enough to just agree on a target. We need to work harder to reform the global financial system,” Stiell added.

This year, 2024, is shaping up to be one of the hottest years in history; 2023 was the warmest. In June, the World Meteorological Organization warned that there was an 80% chance that the average annual global temperature would temporarily exceed pre-industrial levels by 1.5 degrees Celsius in at least one of the next five years.

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The scientific community has repeatedly warned that warming of more than 1.5°C risks triggering much more severe climate change effects and extreme weather events.

This year, the world has already witnessed several climate disasters, including heat waves, hurricanes, droughts, wildfires and floods, the most recent being the floods in Spain. These will intensify in a warmer world, with additional risks of food shortages and disease, scientists have warned.

Mint reported on Friday that India plans to leverage its climate pledges to present concessional grants and loans instead of investments for the Global South at the Baku climate talks.

India would like the NCQG to be finalized as a firm commitment by developed countries that will help decide India’s next round of climate commitments as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

A 19-member Indian team, led by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh, will also push for finalizing carbon credit transfer rules to meet Article 6 climate targets from the Paris Agreement, among others. it matters.

The consequence of 1.5°C

According to a UN emissions gap report, the planet is on track to rise by 2.6-2.8°C above pre-industrial levels and may be heading for a rise of 3.1°C, with catastrophic consequences for people and economies.

In 2023, greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.3% year-on-year to 57.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. To limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, emissions must be reduced by 42% from 2019 levels by 2030. To limit global warming to below 2°C, emissions must fall by 28% by 2030.

According to a study published in Nature Climate Change, a 3°C warmer world is expected to result in a 10% loss of global GDP. If this happens, India could lose 5.8% of working hours to heat, equivalent to 34 million jobs, by 2030.

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“We must not let 1.5°C slip away,” Stiell said. “And even if temperatures rise, the implementation of our agreements must bring them back. The transition to clean energy and climate resilience will not be stopped. Our task is to accelerate this and ensure that its huge benefits are shared by all countries and all people.”

Investment in clean energy and infrastructure is projected to reach $2 in 2024 (nearly twice that of fossil fuels). “We must continue to improve new financial and technical support mechanisms for loss and damage,” Stiell added.

Demand: $2.4 trillion a year

The climate summit is expected to develop a climate finance agreement for countries and communities to switch to clean energy and other low-carbon solutions.

For poor and emerging economies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, $2.4 trillion a year is needed – four times more than is currently being invested. Countries will also introduce their third generation of nationally determined contributions.

These goals form the basis of global efforts to combat climate change. Both climate finance and NDCs are essential to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

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At COP29, Stiell insisted on the need to have international carbon markets up and running by finalizing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Article 6 proposes to allow countries to transfer carbon credits earned from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help one or more nations meet climate goals.

To support countries in creating and communicating their NDCs, the UNFCCC will launch a climate plan campaign. “In parallel, we will restart Climate Weeks in 2025, aligning them more closely with our process and the results they need to deliver,” Stiell said.

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