COP29 Blog: Young Delegates After the Disappointment of COP29: We Can’t Afford to Give Up
By Fred Milligan
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the phrase “We are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat” was often heard. This saying aptly reflects the global disparity in how different nations experience the impacts of climate change, largely driven by greenhouse gas-induced global warming.
For historically high-emitting nations, whose current economic power is closely tied to their contributions to the climate crisis, it is imperative to acknowledge their responsibility and explore its implications. Conversely, for many developing nations, particularly small island developing states (SIDS), mitigation—halting and reversing climate change—is not just important but existential. For them, the rallying cry is clear: “1.5 to stay alive!”
At COP28, nations committed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” However, at COP29, substantive discussions on how to advance this commitment have been lacking. We propose that this COP take a decisive step forward by initiating negotiations for a global agreement on the fossil fuel transition. Such an agreement should set specific, measurable targets for both fossil fuel production and consumption, grounded in scientific projections of sea-level rise and ecosystem collapse, rather than driven by political, economic, or bureaucratic considerations.
As all parties to the climate accord and convention are currently in the process of revising their national climate plans (NDCs), they should take this opportunity to ensure these plans are aligned with the 1.5 target. Moreover, greater attention must be directed toward other significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions, including agriculture, transportation, construction, and military activities. Comprehensive mitigation efforts in these sectors are essential to complement reductions in fossil fuel emissions. But most importantly they should follow up on the Global Stocktake from last year where parties agreed to transition away from fossil fuels, to triple renewable energy, and double energy efficiency.
While we commend the various declarations and initiatives announced under the COP Presidency, they are often disconnected from the broader commitment to phase out fossil fuels and fail to explicitly advance specific provisions of the Paris Agreement. Ensuring alignment between these initiatives and overarching climate goals is critical.
Leaving COP29 without tangible progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions would represent a grave failure to uphold the spirit of the climate convention and an abdication of responsibility toward the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Fred Milligan is a member of Presbyterians for Earth Care and the ACT Climate Justice Group.
PHOTO: Sean Hawkey/ACT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2024
Baku, Azerbaijan – ACT Alliance will be holding a media action at COP29 clearly demonstrating visually and through stories that the climate finance needed by vulnerable countries to counter the effects of the climate crisis have not yet been delivered.
The media action will consist of activists with banners, including one of a world on fire and clown suits and toy plastic pistols. They will sing and ask for climate financing from rich countries to help them fight the climate change “fire.” Instead, clowns will arrive with inappropriate “assistance” such as toy plastic water pistols, chocolate coins and coal, oil and gas. The communities will explain what they really need – loss and damage and adaptation finance.
Speakers will be available for interviews during and after the stunt.
Where: Action zone 7, in area D in the Blue Zone
When: November 22, 13h00-13h30 AZT
Climate finance is essential to implementing climate action, yet so far rich countries have failed to deliver what is needed for developing, vulnerable countries. As COP29 negotiates the NCQG, the call is clear: for quality funding at a sufficient level to meet the needs of developing countries for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.
Developed countries must fulfil their commitments under the Paris Agreement, and the NCQG must ensure clear definitions of finance, transparency, grant-based and publicly funded finance to meet the actual needs of developing countries.
At COP29, ACT Alliance will be reiterating its call for rich countries to pay up, with finance that actually meets the needs of developing countries.
Media contact:
Simon Chambers, Director of Communications, ACT Alliance
WhatsApp: +1-416-435-0972
Email: simon.chambers@actalliance.org
PHOTO: Albin Hillert/LWF
By Nushrat Chowdhury
Local communities feel the impacts of climate change firsthand, yet rarely do they have resources to withstand them. They end up experiencing more loss and damage. Communities in developing countries, in particular, bear the brunt of the climate crisis despite contributing the least to its causes.
Historically, financing for local-level initiatives has been alarmingly low. Research by IIED revealed that between 2003 and 2016, less than 10 percent of climate finance explicitly targeted the local level. Similarly, the 2023 Adaptation Gap Report found that only 17 percent of adaptation finance from 2017 to 2021 supported community-focused adaptation projects. The persistent lack of action exacerbates climate-related losses and damages, especially in the Global South.
The newest multilateral fund under the UNFCCC, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), aims to directly support frontline communities, including vulnerable groups and Indigenous Peoples, through mechanisms like small grants. A coalition of countries has advocated for a dedicated “community window” within the FRLD. This window would provide simplified, direct access to adequate funding tailored to the needs of affected communities. Such an approach must be locally led, responsive, demand-driven, and just. It would empower communities to make decisions about how financial resources are used, allowing them to design, implement, and prioritise programmes based on their specific needs.
In Bangladesh, Christian Aid and the Nowabenki Gonomukhi Foundation implemented the Cyclone-Based Early Actions to Reduce Disaster Loss and Damage project. Local organisations secured funding to reduce cyclone risks in their communities.
For instance, Asma Khatun (35) led the Dakshin Bedkashi Sardar Para Mahila Samiti in developing a proposal for small-scale projects. The association secured funds to construct connecting roads and a wooden bridge, improving access to educational institutions that also serve as cyclone shelters. This initiative was implemented in consultation with stakeholders, including community members and local government organisations. (For the full case study, see Community access to the Loss and Damage Fund – Christian Aid, page 24.)
The FRLD must address the ongoing financing gap at the local level by trusting and supporting local organisations, which have the expertise and understanding of their communities’ needs. In addition, the FRLD should provide capacity-building and technical assistance to help communities access funds and implement their priorities effectively.
Nushrat Chowdhury works with Christian Aid in Bangladesh.
PHOTO: Paul Jeffrey/ACT
By Ada Virnes and Niko Humalisto
At the COP29 climate negotiations in Baku, much of the controversy around climate finance centres on the quantity, that is, how much is needed to meet the needs of developing countries. Even though it is critical that the amount reflects scientific estimates – now adding up to trillions rather than billions – this narrow focus does little justice to the more nuanced interpretations about what “meeting the needs” means in practice, especially when it comes to coping with the climate crisis and enabling a just transition where no one is left behind.
Data shows that most public climate finance to developing countries mobilized by developed countries has been targeted to mitigation projects and to middle-income countries. This is even more striking when it comes to private climate finance.
These finance flows sideline the needs of the poorest countries to protect the rights of vulnerable citizens against the fast-unfolding planetary climate crisis. This bias has several reasons, the key being that most of the finance is provided in the form of debt. This is even though public climate finance is primarily mobilized from official development aid (ODA).
In this multilayered and multisectoral climate finance architecture, are there actors that would be better equipped to deliver climate finance that truly meets people’s needs? To answer this question, we began teasing out differences between the different groups of actors through which climate finance is channelled. The starting point was to examine how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) performed when compared with other channels such as multilateral organizations, funds, and private sector institutions. These are rarely highlighted in climate finance studies.
We limited the scope of the study to Finland, a somewhat typical EU member state that allocates around 150 million euros annually to climate finance via its ODA. Examining all Finland’s ODA projects from 2020-2022, as reported to the OECD, we focused on projects that had a significant focus on either climate change adaptation, mitigation or both. We then estimated the shares of climate finance for each project based on their focus. Then we used the Chi square test to determine whether Finnish NGOs consider key markers related to just transition and human rights in their climate work more often than do the other funding channels.
NGO results
The results leave little room for doubt. In their climate work, NGOs focus more often on adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and least developed countries than do other channels – and the differences are statistically significant. NGOs were also significantly more often engaged in advancing issues that have high relevance in just transition, for example gender and disability inclusion or democratic governance. Even though the NGO projects received just six percent of Finland’s international climate finance, their number covered over two thirds of the examined climate finance portfolio.
These findings have unavoidable political consequences. In addition to NGOs operating in a transparent manner without massive administrative costs, it appears that they comply with other human rights-related criteria set for development policy and just transition. They also target countries vulnerable to climate change with adaptation-oriented projects, which specifically address the challenge of allocating private climate finance.
In fulfilling the commitments of doubling adaptation finance6 or reaching gender mainstreaming in climate finance, Finnish CSOs are pioneers. They form a diverse and indispensable addition to Finland’s climate finance. Their work is effective in combining climate action with multiple positive outcomes in the area of social development. Nonetheless, it should be noted that examining the statistical data on funding decisions does not reveal anything about the results achieved by the projects, thus limiting the assessment of effectiveness.
The key problem, however, is that Finland – like many other countries – lacks specific policies that would steer climate finance toward achieving specific outcomes, such as disability inclusion. Rather, key indicators are geared to evaluating progress in terms of cumulative emission reduction or strengthening carbon sinks. These are highly important goals, but do not alone address the needs of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Ada Virnes and Niko Humalisto work for ACT Alliance Finnish member Felm. Niko is a member of ACT’s Climate Justice advocacy group.
PHOTO: Simon Chambers/ACT
November 21: Note time change to 9:30 am
On Thursday, November 21, at 9:30 am in area B in the Blue Zone, ACT Alliance, its members and allies will show in a media stunt how men are blocking women from full participation in COP29 negotiations. The stunt shows men at the COP negotiating table protected by other men keeping women away from the table with messages of gender exclusion (“Men and boys are important too!”) and women wearing pink trying to enter the negotiating space with placards and stories telling why it’s important they be at the negotiating table. The stunt ends with an inclusive circle of solidarity where women and girls achieve balanced representation with men and boys.
The opening segment of COP29, where only eight women spoke out of 78 government leaders, demonstrated how the voices of women and girls are often missing. Only four leaders mentioned the impact of climate change on women.
As of today, language related to human rights and gender justice is still debated, bracketed, and at risk of being erased. The results of the COP29 negotiations are crucial to ensure that gender justice can reach ambitious, achievable, and accountable targets.
ACT and its members are shining a spotlight on the need for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all climate decision-making spaces.
What: Women at the Table stunt
When: 9:30 am, Thursday, November 21
Where: Action Site 2, Area B, Blue Zone
For interviews or more information, please contact:
Simon Chambers, simon.chambers@actalliance.org; +1 416 435-0972
1,000 Days of Humanitarian Action:
By Andrij Waskowycz,
Country representative of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe in Ukraine, Ukraine Forum Convener
It has been 1,000 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the humanitarian situation in the country has worsened dramatically. The deterioration is largely driven by the intensified use of drone and missile attacks by the Russians.
Day after day and night after night, the people of Ukraine endure constant air raids and relentless shelling of their cities, forcing many to live in fear and uncertainty
According to the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, September alone saw over 1,400 people killed injured in the conflict —the highest monthly toll since the full-scale invasion began.
Homes, hospitals, and schools have been damaged or destroyed, and essential services such as water supply, heating, and electricity have been disrupted. These deliberate attacks on critical civilian infrastructure are designed to leave Ukrainians without water, light, and heat during the freezing winter months when temperatures can drop as low as -15 degrees Celsius.
These 1,000 days represent a prolonged period of profound suffering for the people of Ukraine. Children have been stripped of their childhoods, women carry the immense burden of caring for their families under dire conditions as their husbands fight on the frontlines, and elderly people—who should be enjoying the peace of retirement—are forced to flee their homes, seeking safety either within Ukraine or abroad. Millions have become internally displaced, while countless others have sought refuge in other countries. Many are deeply scarred, enduring trauma from missile and drone attacks, the destruction of their homes, the loss of loved ones, and the relentless horrors of violence.
Yet, these 1,000 days have also unveiled extraordinary resilience and solidarity. Ukrainians have stood by one another during their darkest moments, sharing what little they have with those in need. Around the world, communities have shown remarkable compassion and generosity, rallying to support the 3.67 million internally displaced people in Ukraine and the 6.2 million refugees forced to flee their homeland.
Even before the full-scale invasion in 2022, members of the ACT Alliance were at the forefront of humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, providing essential support to those in need. When the invasion escalated, they responded quickly, mobilizing essential support to remote and severely affected areas. Over time, they have continuedly adapted their efforts to meet the ever-changing needs on the ground.
ACT Alliance members have distributed humanitarian aid and cash assistance, carried out protection projects, evacuated civilians from the frontlines , and rebuilt destroyed homes, schools, and shelters, destroyed by conflict. Their work now extends to humanitarian mine action, addressing critical safety concerns while meeting the urgent needs of communities across Ukraine.
Today, as humanitarian needs grow while resources diminish, Ukraine’s call for solidarity remains urgent. The path forward demands unwavering commitment. We cannot look away. We must stand firm with the people of Ukraine, ensuring that their suffering is not met with silence but with action. Let us renew our resolve to provide essential humanitarian aid, rebuild shattered communities, and amplify the call for peace.
The ongoing efforts of ACT Alliance members have already made a significant difference. But the work is far from over. Now, more than ever, the people of Ukraine need us our support. Together, we can bring hope, resilience, and recovery to those who need it the most. Together, we can ensure that solidarity prevails over despair.
