Tensions around a new North-South climate finance target

We are entering the last hours of this COP29 summit and as usual we seem to run out of time to reach an agreement on the financing address the causes and impacts of climate change to replace the commitment made in 2009 by developed countries to provide $100 billion per year.

The scenario seems a remake of the movie Groundhog Day: yet again two “irreconcilable” options between developed and developing countries, which claim to need trillions of dollars a year to grow greener economies and prepare for the impacts of global warming. Yet there are worries that a deal struck in Baku this week may only offer as little as $200 billion a year.

The problem lies in the fact that the group of nations obligated to spearhead climate financing under the UN's climate treaty was established in 1992. At that time, countries like China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and South Korea were categorized as "developing" nations. However, today these countries have become significantly wealthier and are among the major contributors to pollution.

The EU, the biggest provider of climate finance, is clear that such emerging economies, particularly the oil-rich Gulf states, now need to accept a share of the responsibility and chip in significantly.

While an increasing number of experts and thought leaders are questioning whether COPs are the most effective method for tackling climate change, it is crucial to reach an agreement that will sustain momentum until next year's COP30 in Belem.