Let’s use early milestones to stay focused on climate action

To make sure we meet a 2030 goal to triple outflows from UN climate funds agreed at COP29, work needs to start now

It has been a noisy few months since the COP29 climate summit in Baku. Unpredictability, volatility, distraction and confusion are all enemies of focused and sustained climate action.  

Committed climate actors face a challenge: how do we keep the world focused on the need for action and investment amidst competing demands on attention and resources? The answer – concentrate on concrete steps that we can take now. 

People may disparage the process of multilateral diplomacy. It is an easy target. But in such difficult times, it proves its worth.  

Its norms and its frameworks for collective action provide much-needed anchors to help us weather the storms. Its North Stars – or Southern Crosses for our southern hemisphere friends – allow us to focus the constructive energies of committed climate actors as we navigate uncharted waters. 

Even without everyone on board the ship, the process makes sure we keep moving forward. In this light, the outcomes of COP29 demonstrate that multilateralism can prevail, even in the face of persistent challenges and uncertainties. 

It also provides us with a tapestry of promises that we must fulfill. Stitched together over time, they form a patchwork roadmap.  

Goal to triple UN climate fund outflows

At COP26, governments pledged to double adaptation finance by this year. In Baku, we collectively committed to tripling the outflows from official UNFCCC funds by 2030 before we ultimately mobilise the full Baku Finance Goal of $300 billion per year by 2035.  

These milestones matter. They help us measure progress. They give us a reference point so we can stay on course.  

Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries put the 2030 target for official UNFCCC funds on the agenda in Baku because these bodies know how to help the most vulnerable and they are answerable to them. Organisations such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are focused on achieving the most positive climate impacts and making sure finance is accessible to those who need it. 

Unfortunately, we know that a promise made is not always a promise kept. We recognise that work is needed to hold everyone to account for their pledges and keep them focused. Political will needs to be maintained. Financial commitment needs to be fought for every step of the way. 

The Copenhagen ministerial meetings last week were an essential touchpoint. We heard again from Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries about the importance of the official funds such as the GCF, the Adaptation Fund, and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.  

Getting finance ministers onboard

Others may be distracted, but these countries – some of whom are literally facing climate extinction – remember these critical promises. They remember how every country agreed to them, and they are insistent that collectively they must be delivered.  

The overarching Baku Finance Goal was Azerbaijan’s top negotiating priority for COP29, and we will remain active to make sure that it is delivered. 

The different funds have different replenishment cycles, but if the outflows are to triple in the next five years, then we clearly need to plan and set aside the capital now. One message from Copenhagen was clear: while we are sustaining the attention and commitment of climate ministers, full delivery will require the full attention of finance ministers. 

Finance ministers will play a critical role in meeting our past promises, from tripling the outflows of the official UNFCCC funds by 2030 to helping reform the global financial architecture and facilitate flows of pledged funds in Baku by 2035. 

As COP29 President, Azerbaijan is working with the incoming Brazilian COP30 Presidency on novel ways to mobilise all stakeholders under their vision of a global “mutirão” – where a community comes together and each offers their best to solve a collective challenge. 

In Copenhagen we delivered a clear message to ministers responsible for climate action that they need to take ownership of lobbying their colleagues, their bosses and their banks to participate. 

They need to help pull finance ministers into our process at the same time as we go to theirs. They come to climate ministerial forums – we go to financial meetings.  

And we turn up the noise. We let everyone know that new global challenges and priorities may be important, but they won’t distract us from the essential work of protecting our future. 

Cover photo:  Delegates celebrate the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 24, 2024 (Photo by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis)