Simon Stiell: New climate finance target agreed in Baku - major step forward

The new global climate financing goal achieved at COP29 in Baku in November 2024 is an important step forward, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell said speaking at the Brazilian diplomatic academy - Rio Branco Institute in Brasilia, Report informs.

He noted that the new financial goal represents the minimum volume of climate financing.

"$300 billion is a starting level, not a 'ceiling.' It is crucial that developing countries receive more funds as they have to deal with enormous debt servicing costs and extremely high cost of capital," he noted.

He added that ten years ago in Paris, an agreement was reached regarding money transfer: "We agreed that all financial flows should align with our climate commitments.

Reorienting the international financial system is not an easy task. But this year we set ourselves a goal - to determine step by step how we can secure financing of $1.3 trillion agreement reached at COP29 in Baku," said Stiell.

"In just over ten years, we have gone from practically nothing to $2 trillion [investments in renewable energy sources achieved last year]. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of countries worldwide are still seeking financial opportunities to take large-scale measures to combat climate change," he noted.

He added that all countries will be able to fully unlock their potential if necessary financing is secured, starting with implementing the Baku-Belem roadmap covering $1.3 trillion.