When COP29 concluded, we heard a whimper rather than a roar.
Trillions not Billions
Back in 2009 at COP15 (COP is the annual meeting of the UN's Framework Convention of Climate Change) in Copenhagen developed countries pledged a $100 billion annual target by 2020 for climate action for developing countries - a sum painfully inadequate for the scale of the climate crisis we face - and it has taken us 15 years to barely scrape together that promised sum. Fast forward to 2024 and the message going into COP29 in Baku was that we needed a new climate finance target. The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG - a key acronym in the climate lexicon) said $1 trillion was needed by 2030 and $1.3 trillion by 2035. And the developed countries that have been responsible for the most historical pollution and damage to the environment should commit the most funding to help those countries vulnerable to climate change to adapt.
So COP29 was dubbed the 'Finance COP', recognising that we have the solutions to address climate change, we only now need the financial commitments to implement and scale them. But once again, COP has demonstrated that the stark realities of climate science, and the escalating impacts of climate change, fail to translate into the financial ambition required. The deal reached in Baku sees richer countries committing to raise their funding to help poorer countries to $300 billion a year by 2035 - very far from the trillion that is needed. It is also unclear where this $300 billion funding would come from, leaving developing countries wondering whether a deal was actually struck.
How have we allowed such a critical decision - the survival of billions facing climate shocks, from floods in Pakistan to droughts in Africa - to rest in the hands of a few industrialised nations? Why do they hold the power to dictate the future for humanity?
COP should have symbolised hope, unity, and shared responsibility. It’s where North meets South, where science meets indigenous knowledge, where young meets the old, and where we celebrate our beautiful planet while acknowledging our varying capacities and responsibilities to protect it. But there’s another side to COP - a side dominated by entrenched interests. Self-serving nations prioritising their populations while billions in vulnerable regions pay the price. Corporations protecting profits and share prices, even as inflation and cost-of-living crises drive countless people into poverty.
The way forward
There is a way forward. If the world can spend trillions on military budgets or fossil fuel subsidies, why not invest in the people and the planet? The truth is clear: there is no humanity without the planet, yet the planet will thrive without humanity. Future generations will ask why we gambled their futures on billions when trillions could have secured a healthier, thriving and more equitable world for all.
Since COP15, while we have seen a rise in climate-induced extreme events, we have also seen promising climate solutions emerge. A new generation of climate scientists and entrepreneurs is tackling some of the hardest climate challenges, paving the way forward for innovative approaches.
Our research on the Climate Tech Opportunity reveals that more climate funds are being launched, and more investment is flowing into climate solutions, yet we need to diversify the funding supply and direct funding to vulnerable populations. Climate tech investment and climate finance are already creating jobs, and are predicted to continue to be massive employment generators in the future - a new green economy is unfolding before our eyes.
Our collaboration with United Nations Development Programme on Adaptation Innovation is also showing inspiring grassroots climate solutions. Local entrepreneurs are building innovative climate solutions such as regenerative agriculture, urban aquaponics, nature-based water management, and hydroponics, helping communities build resilience. Yet these efforts often go unnoticed by climate funders, who are looking for the next 'climate unicorn' or a one-size fits all solutions. We must support and scale these localised solutions and prioritise funding where it is needed most - on the ground and in the communities that stand to benefit the most.
The underlying issue is not the lack of science, funding or technologies but the lack of our collective ambition and political will. Perhaps we are placing too much faith in COP, expecting two weeks of negotiations to address a climate crisis that demands action every single day. What we need is urgency, courage, and boldness - qualities that define us as humans. Committing trillions instead of billions would show that we truly mean business and are ready to match words with action. It’s time to act at the scale the crisis demands.
Photo credits
The COP29 images are from the UNFCCC's Flickr account and are both by Kiara Worth.
