COP29’s NCQG Agreement: A Historic Failure of Climate Justice

Statement by Debbie Hillier, Mercy Corps Climate Policy Lead:

“The New Collective Quantified Goal, better known as NCQG, that was gaveled through at COP29 in Baku today is a devastating setback for developing countries. What could and should have been a transformative new international climate finance goal that would set the stage for rapid scale-up of climate action will instead lock in a decade of inaction.  

“Many developing countries spoke up, protesting its adoption in the clearest and loudest terms. Because of developed countries’ betrayal, developing countries – and the women, men and children within them – will continue to shoulder most of the costs of the climate crisis, despite having played very little part in creating it. 

“Developing countries have consistently emphasized the need for trillions in climate finance now, primarily in grants. However, today’s agreement projects that in ten years’ time, they will receive $300 billion per year; which, in today’s terms, equates to roughly $175 billion, much of it in loans, which of course must be paid back. And without any kind of agreement on burden sharing – who should pay and how much – there is no accountability for this. Further, this agreement does not make any commitment to providing funds for Loss and Damage, making a mockery of previous COP commitments and abandoning disaster-prone countries to their fate.   

“A meaningful NCQG should have included $1 trillion in climate finance, funded primarily in grants. Agreeing this required developed countries to be visionary, to build the momentum for a fairer, cooler, more habitable world. This could have been possible – the Coalition on Solidarity Levies announced at this COP that levies on shipping, aviation, and fossil fuel could generate an estimated $350 billion annually, and a 0.1% levy on all stock and bond trades could raise $418 billion a year. Further, wealth or billionaire taxes could raise up to $1.7 trillion annually. 

“This COP could have built the momentum for new funding solutions – making polluters and profiteers pay – that are so desperately needed. New sources could be on stream delivering hundreds of billions of dollars in five years’ time. The money is there – apparently what is not is the drive to combat the climate crisis.  

“This is an absolute derogation of duty of developed countries. Faced with a chance to take a stand for the future and choose to be on the right side of history, leaders prioritized narrow and short-sighted political priorities over global responsibilities and the needs of future generations. This may keep them in power, but it will not cool our planet.”