BAKU: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the world community to redefine the global climate finance to enable climate vulnerable developing countries to meet their NDC goals, half of which may take around US $6.8 trillion by 2030.
The prime minister, addressing the high level climate finance roundtable on the sidelines of COP29 – international climate negotiations’ multilateral forum held under the patronage of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) -, emphasised the urgent need to build momentum for reforming international financial architecture, “forging a path where no nation is left behind in the global response to climate change.”
PM Shehbaz while elaborating the purpose of the roundtable briefed the participants that it was intended to foster new thinking on an old problem that was becoming complicated on all the international climate forums without yielding substantial results.
“We stand at a crucial threshold where global climate finance framework must be redefined to effectively meet the needs of vulnerable nations. Despite years of promises and repeated commitments, the gaps are growing in quantum leaps leading to egregious barriers in achieving objectives of UNFCCC. We all agree that financing resilience as well as ambition is the most urgent need of the hour,” the prime minister said.
He said that the developing countries needed to deliver to their masses on nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) that was why it was imperative to spur both ideas and discourse to make international climate finance more responsive, equitable and sufficient enough to address solutions at various scale enhancing effectiveness of climate finance.
Prime Minister Shehbaz underscored that the donor countries should fulfill their commitment to provide 0.7 per cent of their gross national income as developing assistance and capitalize existing climate funds.
“One such commitment is the $100 billion annual climate finance pledge made over a decade ago at COP-15 is now reported by OECD to reach only $160 billion. Despite this number remaining a tiny proportion of the defined need, a significant part over this financing is disbursed in the form of loans, further enhancing the debt burden on developing nations and potentially pushing towards mounting debt traps. ‘I call it death traps ’,” the prime minister said.
Pakistan can understand the agony and pain of other vulnerable developing countries as it had faced two devastating floods and still recovering from the loss, he said, adding “In order to spur some transparency and coordination into the financial commitments made to the developing countries on climate transfers, Pakistan alongside many other developing countries call for stronger, more equitable climate finance mechanisms under the UNFCCC.”
He suggested a mechanism be set up to measure the unfulfilled pledges, fragmented at an incomplete landscape of climate funds to developing countries. “What I call INDCs whereby major historic emitters should account for climate finance commitments for both mitigation and adaptation pledges reflecting their proportionate responsibilities,” he added.
Debt could not become acceptable new normal in climate financing which was why the world should focus on non-debt financing solutions enabling developing countries to fund climate initiatives without depositing an additional burden, he said.
In 2022, he said when one third of Pakistan was under water, the country had to re-purpose all its development and climate funds for just financing basic relief and humanitarian efforts.
The prime minister also highlighted challenges to developing countries in embracing clean energy transition to offset their carbon emission from power sector. He mentioned that the developing countries looking to enable energy transition should also get preferential capacity and technical assistance in fast tracking consortium financing through various financial instruments.
He suggested the UNFCCC to setup a committee to review internationally-determined contributions (IDCs) periodically.
The forum was also participated by heads of states of different countries and high level dignitaries, state representatives, global experts and international media.
President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon said in order to address global threats and challenges, the world needed to take coordinated actions collectively, especially through financing climate initiatives. “Tajikistan is also among developing climate vulnerable countries bearing vagaries of climate disasters as over 4,000 climate and natural disasters hit the country in past decade incurring $500 million losses and deaths of 400 people,” he said.
President Rahmon said that he was confident that holding a strong and inclusive coalition of developing countries and development partners was key to collectively promote reform of the international climate finance system for generations to come.
President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Nurgojo uulu Japarov said Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan like many others were expressing their willingness to fulfill the agenda on the table.
“We are witnessing climate change that is posing fundamental threat to the sustainable development of regions, countries and the world as a whole,” he said.
The high level roundtable by Pakistan was timely given the upcoming decisions of the COP29 for new collective qualitative goals on climate finance, the Kyrgyz President said. “Without adequate funding many of our projects remain on paper. The responsibility of providing climate finance should be proportionate to their emissions. Those responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions should lead to support vulnerable developing countries with financing and technology,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister joined the global leaders as they gathered to participate in the opening plenary “World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit” of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).
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On arrival at the summit venue, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed the prime minister.
Later, he also posed for a group photo along with the participating leaders at the venue.
The prime minister addressed the World Leaders Climate Action Summit and also attend several high-level events on the sidelines of the event besides holding bilateral meetings with the world leaders.
