Cologne [Germany], June 14: A 10-day UN climate conference in the German city of Bonn has failed to achieve a breakthrough when it comes to the issue of funding to help countries cut global warming.
Since 2009, industrialized countries have been set the target of providing billions of dollars in aid to assist poorer countries with global warming mitigation measures. This was confirmed in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and extended to 2025.
The targeted amount of $100 billion annually was achieved for the first time in 2022. The question now is how to proceed after 2025, with a concrete decision to be taken at COP 29 in the Azerbaijani capital.
The Bonn conference was intended to prepare the ground for the November summit.
Industrialized countries are calling for the oil-rich states of the Middle East to contribute, on the grounds that they contribute more to global warming by extracting oil, for example, and also because they are rich enough to help others.
"The tireless attempts of the industrialized countries to soften their existing obligations for supporting poorer countries was cause for concern," Oxfam climate expert Jan Kowalzig said in Bonn on Thursday as the conference ended.
Talks will now have to proceed at ministerial level to arrive at a draft resolution for Baku. "If the Azerbaijani COP presidency acts too late here, Baku could fail on the issue of financing," Kowalzig said.
Germanwatch climate expert David Ryfisch added: "The progress in talks on the new climate financing target is evidently too slow to reach even a minimal compromise at the world climate summit."
New data published during the Bonn conference showed that for the past year, each month has turned out to be the warmest on record for that month.
May this year was 1.52 Celsius degrees warmer than May in the 1850-1900 period, and the average 12 month temperature up to May 2024 was 1.63 degrees above the level in that period.
Source: Qatar Tribune