The aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam in September 2024. COP29: UN chief urges countries to ‘take loss and damage financing seriously’ Climate and Environment
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on countries to increase contributions to a fund to support developing countries affected by climate change. Guterres made the call on Tuesday at a high-level meeting of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku.
“In an era of climate extremes, financing loss and damage is imperative,” he said. “I call on governments to deliver on their commitments. For justice.”
The most vulnerable communities
Climate disasters harm those who are least to blame for the situation, the Secretary-General noted.
“Meanwhile, those who contribute significantly to the destruction, especially the fossil fuel industry, continue to reap huge profits and subsidies,” he added.
Guterres called the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund “a victory for developing countries, multilateralism and fairness,” but stressed that its initial capitalization of $700 million was not enough to “correct the injustices” faced by the most vulnerable communities.
Football players’ salaries
That amount, he said, was roughly equivalent to the annual earnings of the world’s 10 highest-paid footballers, but would not be enough to repair even a quarter of the damage caused to Vietnam by Hurricane Yagi in September.
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“We must take seriously the amount of funding needed,” said the UN chief. – I urge countries to provide new funding to the Fund – and write the cheques accordingly.”
Since “bilateral flows alone will not be enough,” Guterres also called for new solutions and sources of funding.
Innovative Mechanisms
In this regard, he called on countries to agree on a new climate finance target that harnesses innovative resources.
“We need solidarity taxes on sectors like shipping, aviation and fossil fuels to help finance climate action. We need a fair price on carbon,” – said the UN chief.
“And more broadly, we also need to support the multilateral development banks and increase their lending capacity so that they are prepared to respond to the climate crisis,” he added.
On his social media page, the UN Secretary-General welcomed today’s decision by the multilateral development banks to increase climate finance, calling it a “much-needed step forward” at the Baku Conference. However, Guterres warned that this measure alone will not solve the problem; it must be part of a larger effort.