Response: Latest NCQG Text At COP29 - Oil Change International

November 22, 2024

In response to the latest NCQG text, Laurie van der Burg, Oil Change International Global Public Finance Manager, said:

“This text is an absolute embarrassment. It’s the equivalent of governments handing the keys to the firetruck to the arsonists. The vague $1.3 trillion investment target is not to be relied on and the $250 billion goal is not debt-free. Previous suggestions to end fossil fuel handouts and make polluters pay have all been axed. This amounts to a cop-out for polluters and allows rich countries to dodge their responsibilities by relying on the private sector and even developing countries to cover the bill, creating a debt-trap for countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

"We know rich countries can pay up the trillions they owe to the Global South by ending fossil fuel handouts, taxing the super rich, and changing unfair global financial rules. We need a dramatic change in direction if we want a fighting chance to leave Baku with a finance deal that can support the fair fossil fuel phaseout that we need to avoid breaching 1.5°C.”

In response to the latest mitigations text, Shady Khalil, Global Policy Senior Strategist, said:

“Despite attempts at rowing back progress achieved last year on fossil fuel phase out, it is positive to see that the current draft of the UAE dialogue reiterates, albeit in a veiled manner, the need for countries to exit fossil fuels. While insufficient, this is a crucial political signal that needs to be protected. Restating previous agreements is not going to solve the climate crisis. We need concrete action by countries. We urge negotiators to make it clear that limiting warming to 1.5°C means submitting NDCs that end fossil fuel expansion. An ambitious agreement at COP29, however, will only be possible if rich countries not only get their act together on ending fossil fuel expansion but, crucially, provide the trillions of finance needed on fair terms for countries to make this transition a reality.”

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