COP29: Africa expected more in the new Climate Finance deal

After a frustrating two-week climate change negotiations, parties at the COP29 at Baku, Azerbaijan, finally reached a new deal in climate finance.

 

Known formally as the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), the new finance goal is to help countries to protect their people and economies against climate disasters, and share in the vast benefits of the clean energy boom.

The agreement will triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of USD 100 billion, to USD 300 billion annually by 2035; and secure efforts of all actors to work together to scale up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources, to the amount of USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.

 

"This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. “But like any insurance policy – it only works – if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept, to protect billions of lives.” 

 

But it was not the deal Africa and other vulnerable regions hoped for. India, Bolivia and Nigeria rejected the deal after adoption.

 

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Ali Mohamed, did not hold back the group’s frustrations during the closing plenary, labelling the deal “too little, too late, and too ambiguous in its delivery.”

 

“At this COP, we achieved progress in some respects, but we appear to be regressing in others,” said Ambassador Mohamed. “Let it be clear that, the agreed figure of $300 billion per annum is an inadequate amount, which has to be reviewed in 2030 and revised upward in line with needs of developing countries.”

 

The two main contentious issues revolved around the quantum and mode of delivery, as the obligation aspect is clear in both the Convention and the Paris Agreement, placing responsibility on developed parties to provide climate finance.

 

However, developing parties left Baku frustrated as this responsibility was watered down in the agreed climate finance deal—it puts obligations on all parties, “with developed country Parties taking the lead,” and includes “a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources.”

 

With such language in the text, some experts believe this effectively kills the spirit of the climate convention, which clearly places obligations on developed countries to provide climate support based on their historical and current contribution to the climate crisis.

 

“Africa stands here with a sense of realism and resignation. Delivery of the aims of the Convention and its Paris Agreement remain deeply uncertain. We are realistic about the journey ahead. But let us remember that these commitments are not acts of charity. They are acts of survival, shared prosperity, and solidarity. Climate finance is not a handout – it is the moral and economic imperative of our age,” said the AGN Chair.

 

The “Finance COP” was Africa’s push to address the gap in adaptation needs and climate funding for vulnerable people.

 

However, the rich countries, known as the historical polluters most responsible for the climate crisis, focused almost completely on shifting responsibility to other growing economies.

 

For the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Baku remains one of the worst deals in the history of COPs, expressing fears developing countries are poised to sink deeper into debt as climate becomes a new source of debt as they grapple with rising development demands.

 

“The deal does not inspire hope for less developed countries who have suffered unjustly low access to climate finance due to their constrained fiscal space. And the problems for Africa do not end in the size of commitment,” said the group.

 

But COP29 President, Mukthar Babayev, believes “the Baku Finance Goal represents the best possible deal we could reach, and we have pushed the donor countries as far as possible”.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

COP29: Why Climate Finance is top priority for Africa

Another round of climate change talks is here again at Baku, Azerbaijan, to address the rampant climate crisis.

 

“This crisis is affecting every single individual in the world in one way or another,” acknowledged Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change at the opening of COP29.  

 

The 29^th Conference of Parties (COP29) in the climate change negotiations has been dubbed the “Climate Finance COP” as a new climate finance target is sought to help developing countries overcome their vulnerabilities to the climate crisis.

 

“We must agree a new global climate finance goal,” said Simon. “If at least two thirds of the world's nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price”.  

 

Civil society organizations like 350.org are making it clear that fair, equitable finance is the bridge to climate action.

 

At COP29, they are demanding countries pledge to an ambitious climate finance goal, or New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of at least $1 trillion, which must be in the form of grants and based on the financial, climate and social needs of the Global South. 

 

Countries are also to agree to put forward climate goals – Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – in line with fairly tripling renewable energy capacity and phasing out fossil fuels by 2030.

 

According to Simon Stiell, if nations can’t build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees, emphasizing that “no country is immune”. 

  

“Let's dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every nation, including the largest and wealthiest,” he noted. 

 

There is also an expected acceleration of the shift to clean-energy and climate-resilience.

 

African CSOs posture  

 

African Civil Society leaders are urging a focus on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to achieve substantial and equitable financing solutions for climate action.

 

Under the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), the CSOs highlighted the urgent need for global commitments on adaptation, just transition, critical minerals, mitigation, and transparency in carbon markets.

 

“We call for the establishment of an ambitious sub-goal for adaptation finance that prioritizes public, grant-based support for developing countries, responding to needs outlined in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and other national plans,” reads the statement.

 

Dr. Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of PACJA, emphasized that COP29’s NCQG negotiations must address Africa's pressing adaptation needs as well as Loss and Damage.

 

“If the NCQG fails to consider the adaptation needs of vulnerable populations, COP29 will not meet the threshold to be a genuine Climate Finance COP,” he stated.

 

The adaptation finance gap for developing nations remains significant – currently 10 to 18 times greater than actual international financial flows, which amount to approximately USD 20 billion per year. This falls well short of the estimated USD 166-366 billion needed annually to meet adaptation demands.

 

Prof. Seth Osafo, Senior Legal Advisor at the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) said it’s had to talk about the NCQG leaving behind considerations of other dimensions.

 

“We must reimagine the quality of finance, moving beyond debt-based approaches—currently at 72%—to include concessional loans, grants, and innovative financing mechanisms. Additionally, funding must be accessible, predictable, and structured to prioritize essential sub-goals, including Loss and Damage, while aligning on whether a single-layer or multi-layer approach best serves the mobilization and provision of funds,” Prof Osafo stated.



As the COP29 discussions begin, African Civil Society wants world leaders to prioritize issues that meet the urgent needs of African communities on the frontlines of climate change. 

 

by Kofi Adu Domfeh

 

Unpacking climate impacts and energy transition at the Africa Climate Academy

Africa faces knowledge gaps that hinder engagements in the global energy transition, even as countries set ambitious net-zero targets and major oil companies shift toward cleaner energy.

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), a policy think tank, believes the continent needs fresh perspectives on the risks of oil dependence and the opportunities of the energy transition for inclusive growth and development.

“It is time for us to think how we can be part of the economic transformation from renewable energy, inspite of the challenges with climate change,” said Benjamin Boakye, ACEP Executive Director.

He was addressing the inaugural cohort of the Africa Climate Academy, an educational platform designed to reshape perceptions, build knowledge, foster collaboration, and empower advocacy for a sustainable future.

The Academy brought together policymakers, media professionals, civil society leaders, and academics to acquire the knowledge and tools to address Africa’s climate and energy challenges and drive sustainable action.

The primary goal of the energy transition is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but a just transition will need Africa to be at the forefront of implementation.

Voices for Africa to go for nuclear energy have been strong, emphasizing that it’s cheaper and the option for industrialization.

Benjamin Boakye, however, believes “the argument that we cannot industrialize with renewable energy is being challenged due to improving technology to ease access to solar, among others”.

Failure of the Paris Agreement

Climate change is affecting every inhabited region across the globe, with human influence contributing to many observed changes in weather and climate extremes.

Human-induced climate change has contributed to increases in agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions due to evapotranspiration increases.

Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Ghana and Vice Chair of IPCC Working Group I, during a session, unpacked the evidence from the IPCC about the reality of climate change.

“The impact of climate change is affecting our environment and has the potential to destroy our very existence. It is affecting our habitat, the air we breathe, water we drink, the food we eat,” she said.

Global temperatures have already risen 1.36°C as at 2023 and will probably rise a further 3°, or even up to 4.5-5° by 2100.

Regional temperatures are rising; cold days, nights and frost have become rarer; hot days, nights and heat-waves are more frequent; extreme rainfall and flooding events are more frequent; extreme droughts and massive wildfires are more common; and in rural communities, forests and farmland are impacted, making crops and food scarce and expensive for all.

According to Prof, Klutse, there is a failure of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and international commitments to emission reductions.

Assessments of current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) suggest that these reductions, even if fully implemented, are unlikely to limit global temperature increases to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

“We’re slowly being boiled in a pot, but we’re not being ambitious in solutions to climate change,” observed the scientist. “We should not go beyond the tipping point. We need to ambitiously remove fossil fuels to control carbon dioxide emissions”.

Collection Action

Some extreme weather events observed over the past decade would have been extremely unlikely to occur without human influence on the climate system.

Dr. Daniel Tutu Benefoh, Acting Director of the Climate Change Unit at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency, noted that the resource rich part of Africa have the most climate vulnerable people, hence it is important that climate change is carried to the belly of development and keep the conversation there.

He facilitated a session on Integrating Climate Change into Planning Frameworks, covering strategies for mainstreaming climate considerations, fostering inclusivity, monitoring progress, and overcoming implementation challenges.

The Africa Climate Academy is designed to transform the continent’s approach to climate action and shape the future of energy in Africa.

Dr Charles Gyamfi Ofori, Policy Lead, Climate Change and Energy Transition at ACEP, emphasized that the energy transition is real and presents several opportunities.

But he says “we have to be intentional in assessing the benefits,” adding that “continued investment, R&D and policy support is relevant for Africa”.

by Kofi Adu Domfeh