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COP29 Position Paper: Finance for Climate Justice in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings : CORDAID Position paper for the COP29 11-22 November 2024, Baku, Azerbaijan

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The COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, is proclaimed “the finance COP”. It will focus on aligning climate financing to the global goals set in the Paris Agreement. As all parties submit new and updated national climate plans, they should deliver and reflect commitments agreed upon in the Paris Agreement.

1. A NEED FOR FINANCING FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE

The Conference of the Parties 29 (COP29), which will take place November 11 to 22, 2024, in Baku (Azerbaijan) is proclaimed “the finance COP”. It will focus on aligning climate financing to the global goals set in the Paris Agreement (2015) (1). As all parties submit towards 2025 new and updated national climate plans, they should deliver and reflect commitments agreed upon in the Paris Agreement.

The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) discussions this year will focus on agreeing on a new global climate finance goal with the adoption of a New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG). The ambition is to replace the commitment to the global north with a collective goal of mobilising from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, prior to 2025, for climate action in the global south. We see this as an opportunity to improve the quality and the quantity of climate finance flowing to fragile and conflict-affected settings, and address the current structural barriers in reaching the most climate-vulnerable communities.

In the run-up to last year’s COP28, Cordaid advocated for conflictsensitive and peace-positive approaches to climate programming and climate security in local policies (2). Building on our previous recommendations, this COP29 position paper argues the need for localised financing mechanisms. We urge easily accessible, integrated, inclusive, and locally led financing mechanisms that do not lead to greater debt in fragile and conflict-affected settings. As Cordaid, we urge adequate, predictable and sustainable financing mechanisms that enhance climate justice.

In fragile settings, weak governance structures and climate change have become important threat multipliers affecting the resilience of societies, development, peace, and human security. Climate Justice addresses the fact that the people who suffer most from climate change are not the ones who create it. Furthermore, research shows a strong overlap between the countries most susceptible to climate risks and the most fragile and conflict-affected countries. However, despite their significant need for climate finance, they receive very limited funding. The ten most fragile countries received less than 1% of total climate adaptation finance in 2022, mostly through loans and without adopting a conflict-sensitivity lens, which in turn, further exacerbates the countries’ debt burden (OECD, 2023; Oxfam International, 2023).

With this paper, we advocate for more climate funding towards fragile and conflict-affected settings that are dedicated for and channelled via civil society actors at all levels, especially at the local levels. Financial mechanisms must be easily accessible, and should in their criteria support an inclusive and integrated approach