by Tusi Tala, Staff Writer
Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo has joined the call for a fairer climate finance system for small island nations and the least developed countries.
The United Nations climate change conference, COP29, is currently taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the next two weeks. He is advocating for improved access to climate funding.
COP29 has been referred to as the “finance cop,” highlighting the emphasis on climate financing. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged global leaders on Tuesday that “there is no time to lose” and cautioned that “the world must pay up, or humanity will face the consequences.”
Tagaloa Cooper, director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), stated that the region seeks a significant increase in climate finance.
Cooper, present in Baku, emphasized that discussions about climate finance should now focus on trillions instead of billions, given the high costs of adaptation.
“The Pacific aims to secure an agreement on climate financing that includes a genuine increase in funds, a commitment to this increase, and assurances that climate financing will be more accessible for small developing nations like those in the Pacific,” she remarked.
Reports indicate that a fund for loss and damage relief, aimed at assisting the most vulnerable countries, has been officially established.
This fund now has a governing board that includes representatives from developing nations and is expected to begin distributing aid next year.
Sweden has pledged 200 million kr (around US$19 million) to the fund, pending government approval, raising the total pledged funding to over $720 million.
At COP, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) introduced the Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP).
IF-CAP aims to secure total guarantees of US$2.5 billion to support parts of ADB’s existing loan portfolio, which is projected to enable the release of approximately $11.25 billion in dedicated climate financing for the region.
The ADB reported that it has secured nearly $2.2 billion in guarantees, including $1 billion from the United States, $600 million from Japan (along with a $25 million grant), $280 million from the United Kingdom, $200 million from Australia, and $100 million from Denmark through the Investment Fund for Developing Countries.
