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The second day took place in Baku Pre-COP29.
As Day.Az reports with reference to Trend, the event, which takes place at the Heydar Aliyev Center, is dedicated to the topic “Raising ambition and driving climate action“.
The second day of the event includes plenary sessions and side events.
As the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev said, Azerbaijan seeks to attract all sources to climate finance.
The Minister noted that the availability of financing should be significantly increased.
“We continue to call for increased contributions to the Green Climate Fund, but we agree that not all funds can come from the public sector. Only 2 percent of climate change adaptation finance currently comes from the private sector. Multilateral banks development and international financial institutions have a role to play in attracting private sector investment. We are working with these organizations to maximize the scale, efficiency and easy access to climate finance,” added M. Babayev.
Irish Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport Eamon Ryan noted that Ireland’s climate plan is focused on supporting those most vulnerable to climate change.
“In 2021, we set an ambitious climate finance goal of reaching $225 million by 2025, more than doubling previous levels. One of the key goals of our climate plan is to improve the governance of finance, as reflected in the Balancing Act. The Fight poverty and access to infrastructure remain top priorities even in the face of climate change,” Ryan said.
He also added that Ireland contributes significantly to a number of multilateral climate funds such as the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility. These organizations support countries in building capacity and creating an enabling environment for sustainable financing.
“We understand that existing mechanisms are sometimes not effective enough, and we need to look for new approaches to accelerate climate action,” the minister concluded.
UK climate minister Kerry McCarthy said it is estimated that least developed countries and small island developing states collectively require between US$29 billion and US$41 billion a year this decade to adapt to climate change.
“We are all keenly aware of the need for urgent action in the face of the intensifying climate crisis, but action depends on effective funding, and many of those most needed to act are limited in their ability to get the support they need,” she said.
The Minister noted that least developed countries and small island developing states are among the most affected by the effects of climate change, while they are least responsible for its occurrence. However, they face difficulties in accessing the finance needed to adapt to these impacts and create pathways for green growth.
“On average, adaptation funding for least developed countries and small island developing states was only $7 billion per year from 2017 to 2021. Clearly, there is a significant gap. These figures reflect the difficulties climate-vulnerable countries face in accessing to the necessary financing in the required amounts,” she added.
And Vanuatu’s climate change minister John Salong said in a video message that his country needs more climate finance.
“Vanuatu’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are under threat from humanity’s collective failure to move away from planet-killing fossil fuels and the failure to mobilize sufficient adaptation funding for those who desperately need it. Our own domestic actions – from budgets to policies to international commitments at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and elsewhere – demonstrate our unwavering commitment to transformation,” he said.
Small island developing states and least developed countries have particular vulnerabilities and special circumstances that cannot be underestimated and require new and additional cooperation between donors and development partners, he said.
“The climate adaptation financing gap is significant for us. In Vanuatu, the gap is existential as we face climate impacts that have cost us over 50% of GDP over the past three years,” the minister said.
He also added that doubling adaptation funding by 2025 is critical.
The news is being updated