The two-week-long United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) concluded on Sunday following fierce debates over justly-distributed financial commitments to address the climate crisis. The conference ended with an agreement to provide $300 billion annually to developing and least-developed countries by 2035. Originally scheduled to conclude on Friday, the conference was extended until Sunday as delegates from both developed and developing nations struggled to finalize financial targets. Developed countries had previously pledged $100 billion annually in public finance starting in 2020 through bilateral and multilateral cooperation. This pledge has now been increased by $200 billion by 2035. While this development reflects progress, the pledged amount is outrightly inadequate to assist underdeveloped and developing nations like Nepal to address their urgent climate adaptation and mitigation needs. It is also unclear how the most vulnerable developing countries will benefit from these funds. The pledge is symbolic rather than transformative, as it fails to provide the ambitious and actionable financial roadmap needed to confront the climate crisis.
Unsurprisingly, the decision has drawn criticism from developing and least-developed countries, which had been unequivocally advocating for at least $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually. These nations have deemed the $300 billion annual pledge "grossly inadequate," arguing that it does not match the scale of the climate crisis or the pressing need for global action to prevent further effects. The pledge also lacks details on how the funds will be allocated, raising concerns about whether the money will reach the most vulnerable countries and communities. The absence of clarity on how the pledged amount will be sourced—whether through public funds, private investments or innovative financing mechanisms—is equally problematic. The pledge also seems to overlook loss and damage, focusing rather on mitigation and adaptation. This sidelines critical issues like financing for countries like Nepal that are facing irreversible climate impacts. In light of the history of unfulfilled climate finance promises, this raises doubts about whether the new target will even be met on time. What makes things worse is there are insufficient provisions to monitor the accountability in ensuring that pledged funds are delivered transparently and used effectively.
SHIFT for Our Planet: Youths urge authorities to make climate j...
Climate change poses an imminent and existential threat to Nepal’s development trajectory. Reports have shown that Nepal is likely to incur average annual economic loss worth 0.08 percent of its Gross domestic Product (GDP) due to climate-induced disasters. The losses during years of heightened effects of climate change could be as high as 2.08 percent of GDP. These numbers do not account for the impacts on agriculture and livelihood caused by the losses in agriculture outputs due to extreme weather events or the resulting likelihood of the rise of conflicts. The pledge does not provide grounds for optimism for Nepal. Climate finance is not a matter of charity; it is a matter of rights and survival of marginalized countries. The climate finance targets set by COP-29 are disappointingly low. For underdeveloped countries like Nepal, the COP-29 represents a missed opportunity to take meaningful action on climate finance.
