Reacción a "COP29 agrees rich countries to provide $300 billion to poorer countries for climate finance"

It is very good news that an agreement has been reached on climate finance, tripling the annual contribution compared to the targets that have been set so far. Although the mechanisms to make the contribution materialise still require technicalities to be finalised, grants, loans and private projects should help countries in the Global South to implement the transition needed to reduce their emissions and adapt to changes in the climate system. However, it is important to take a broad perspective. It should not be forgotten that adaptation is not only a challenge for the Global South and that the Global North still has a lot to do as we have seen in recent climate-related disasters, and that this will also require massive funding and major societal change.

Other important aspects are the agreement on international carbon markets (which will benefit from the agreement on Article 6.4 on standards, a key aspect for markets to develop with the necessary confidence), the continued role of climate in human health on the agenda of the talks, the declarations on reducing methane emissions associated with waste and on the central role of water in adaptation and mitigation measures, and the progress on the implementation of the loss and damage fund.

These are positive signals, but it is crucial to remember that without urgent and sustained reductions in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, the global warming thresholds set in the Paris Agreement will be exceeded. The 1.5°C threshold will most likely be exceeded in the 2030s and the 2°C threshold will be very difficult to avoid before the end of the century.