Wealthy countries back raising COP29 climate deal to $300 billion, sources say

RFI

23 November 2024 at 3:19 am·2-min read

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the Cop29 UN Climate Summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 21 November 2024.

The European Union, United States and other wealthy countries at the COP29 climate summit have agreed to raise their offer of a global finance target to $300 billion per year by 2035, sources told Reuters on Saturday.

The summit had been due to finish on Friday but ran into overtime as negotiators from nearly 200 countries - who must adopt the deal by consensus - tried to reach agreement on the world's climate funding plan for the next decade.

The shift in position came after a $250 billion proposal for a deal, drafted by Azerbaijan's Cop29 presidency on Friday, was panned by developing countries as insultingly low.

It was not immediately clear if the wealthy countries' revised position had been communicated to developing countries at Cop29, and whether it would be enough to win their support.

Five sources with knowledge of the closed-door discussions said the EU had agreed they could accept the higher number. Two of the sources said the United States, Australia and Britain were also on board.

A European Commission spokesperson and an Australian government spokesperson both declined to comment on the negotiations.

The US delegation at Cop29 and the UK energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Delegates were awaiting a new draft text of the deal on climate finance on Saturday after negotiators worked through the night to bridge wide gaps in their positions.

The Cop29 talks have laid bare the divisions between wealthy governments constrained by tight domestic budgets and developing nations reeling from the soaring costs of storms, floods and droughts fuelled by climate change.

(Reuters)

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