After the recently concluded COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan failed to raise the amount of funds sought by developing countries for climate initiatives, civil society groups are calling on Brazil, the next host for the conference in 2025, to step up and lead.
“Rich countries have failed to honor their responsibilities, and shown up with rigid unwillingness to meet this moment with the ambition required to address the climate crisis,” Namrata Chowdhary, public engagement head at climate advocacy group 350.org, said in a statement.
The only silver lining from COP29, dubbed the “Finance COP,” is that it serves as a starting point to mobilize additional funds, the 350.org statement said. “Now, the Brazilian COP30 Presidency must take on the crucial task of leading a credible process to scale up finance and ensure its quality and impact,” the statement added.
At COP29, developing countries were calling for $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance from developed countries. However, the conference ended with a commitment of $300 billion per year and a promise to reach the original target by 2035 through collective public, private and other efforts, instead of developed countries paying up.
Gerry Arances, executive director of the Philippine-based Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, called this commitment “a hollow promise.”
“Developed nations must stop the excuses, pay their climate debt, and phase out fossil fuels,” he said in a statement.
Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Brazilian Climate Observatory, said in another statement that the COP29 presidency of Azerbaijan, which has been criticized for inadequate negotiations and outcomes as well as procedural issues, “was disastrous.” The country’s hosting of the summit has also been criticized over Azerbaijan’s alleged poor environmental and human rights records and its standing as a major oil exporter.
“COP30, under the leadership of Brazil, will have to be very competent and dedicated to fill the gaps left by this conference, promote the advancement of ambition and keep the 1.5°C [2.7°F] goal alive,” Astrini said.
Brazil, a major oil producer and greenhouse gas emitter, also hosts the largest rainforest on the planet. The country is now trying to “resume its protagonist role in the climate arena with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,” Mongabay previously reported.
The current government, which took over from climate denialist Jair Bolsonaro, “has recovered a considerable part of the damage done by the Bolsonaro administration,” Astrini told Mongabay. “It brought COP to Brazil, reduced deforestation and created the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples.”
While the COP29 finance negotiations were disappointing, “those on the frontlines of the climate crisis do not have the luxury of losing hope,” Shiva Gounden, head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said in a statement. “We will take the fight to COP30 in Brazil to ensure the profit-hungry fossil fuel industry pays for the climate destruction it has caused.”
Banner image of civil society groups protesting at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Image courtesy of 350.org.
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