Context:
The 60th meeting of the Bonn Climate Change Conference, a subsidiary body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was held recently.
More on the news:
- This conference’s main agenda is establishing a strong New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) based on needs, and ensuring money flows from developed to developing nations.
- A just and ambitious NCQG in Baku will pave the way for future global climate action while considering the needs of developing countries.
Significance of Bonn climate change conference:
- It serves as a crucial intermediary meeting between annual Conference of Parties (COP) summits, focusing on implementing agreements from previous COPs.
- Negotiations at this conference aim to refine the language and draft conclusions for formal recommendation at the next COP.
- This ongoing session holds significant importance for achieving an ambitious outcome at the upcoming COP 29 to the UNFCCC, where a new climate finance goal will be determined in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)
- It is a vital element in global climate finance, where developed countries commit to a new annual financial target beginning in 2025.
- This goal aims to provide climate finance to developing nations, replacing the earlier pledge of USD 100 billion per year made by developed countries in 2009, which they failed to meet.
- The NCQG represents a significant step in combating climate change and supporting vulnerable regions.
- It is hosted by the UNFCCC and gathers around 6,000 participants from national delegations and civil society groups.
Major Areas of discussion this year:
Deciding the climate change reduction ‘goals’:
- Developing countries have pointed out that obstacles in the global financial system, like high borrowing costs, heavy debt loads, and limited budget flexibility, make it hard for them to access climate finance.
- Developed countries have proposed a multi-layered goal structure, but developing countries insisted on separate targets for mitigation, adaptation, and addressing loss and damage.
‘Additionality’ of finances:
• In 2009, developed nations pledged to offer “new and additional” climate finance, but there’s been debate over whether the funds truly meet the additionality principles.
- Official Development Assistance (ODA), overseen by the OECD, is foreign aid from developed to developing countries for development.