Developing nations push for new fund at Biodiversity COP; BRICS countries expect strong climate finance outcomes at COP29

As climate finance is set to take center stage at COP29, CarbonCopy brings you a weekly roundup of latest developments in the field

• At the ongoing COP16 UN Biodiversity Summit in Cali, Columbia, finance took centre stage at the opening ceremony. Some developing nations are concerned about limited access to the current fund—set up two years ago at COP15 in Montreal. The fund has not found major contributors so far, so some developing countries are advocating for the creation of a new fund under COP management. The current fund is being managed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)—a multilateral agency co-founded by the World Bank and other UN agencies.
  
  
• At their recent summit, BRICS nations said they were looking forward to strong climate finance outcomes at COP29 to support developing countries’ climate efforts. The BRICS bloc, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has now expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
  
  
• The Kazan Declaration ‘Strengthening Multilateralism For Just Global Development and Security’ opposed linking security issues with the climate agenda and reaffirmed the UNFCCC and COP as primary forums to discuss climate change “in all its dimensions”. The declaration also committed to amplifying the voice of the Global South in the G20 and integrating their priorities into multilateral economic discussions. 
  
  
• This will be a tough task considering the G20 has been accused of watering down a report by top economists on how member countries can shift their financial systems towards tackling climate change. The watered down version excluded proposals for a wealth tax on billionaires. It also diluted the criticism of G20’s climate response. The term “G20 inaction” was replaced with “G20 inertia”. Additionally, the original urgency and tone calling for strong financial reforms to address climate challenges were softened. Instead of endorsing the report, G20 ministers merely “took note” of it, avoiding a commitment to the suggested climate finance actions.
  
   
• Current carbon tax policies are not enough to keep temperature rise to under 2°C, a new UN report found. Existing carbon tax policies cover only 24% of global emissions, stated the report by the Joint Task Force comprising the IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, World Bank, and WTO. The report stressed the importance of explicit carbon pricing and international coordination in accelerating decarbonisation efforts. 
  
  
• Back in India, the Bihar government announced its intentions of setting up a climate finance cell, as part of its finance department. The state is also preparing to launch a RE policy in November. The announcement was made by Bihar’s deputy CM and finance minister Samrat Choudhary during the Bihar Climate Finance Summit. 

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