THE SECRETARY-GENERAL -- COP29 REMARKS TO THE MEDIA Baku, 21st November 2024

Good afternoon.

 

I have just returned from the G20 Summit in Rio. COP29 was very much on the agenda.

 

I urged G20 leaders to instruct their ministers and negotiators to secure a compromise, to secure the success of the COP, and to secure a new ambitious climate finance goal at COP29.

 

And I heard leader after leader stress the importance of concrete success.

 

Delegations, and the COP Presidency, are now working hard to find common ground.

 

But as I said in my opening remarks here, the clock is ticking. 

 

COP29 is now down to the wire.

 

I sense an appetite for agreement, but areas of convergence are coming into focus. But let’s be frank, many substantial differences are still remaining.

 

Success is not yet guaranteed. We need a major push to get discussions over the finishing line…

 

To deliver an ambitious and balanced package on all pending issues, with a new finance goal at its heart.

 

Failure is not an option.

 

It might jeopardize both near-term action, and ambition in the preparation of the new national climate action plans, with potential devastating impacts as irreversible tipping points are getting closer.

 

It would inevitably make the success of COP30 in Brazil more difficult. 

 

And so, allow me to repeat, what we need is clear:

 

Agreement on an ambitious new climate finance goal in Baku in the context of a balanced set of decisions.

 

Through its different components, that goal must mobilise the finance developing countries need.

 

And the surge in finance is indeed essential:

 

Essential to ensure all parties can deliver new national action plans aligned with 1.5 degrees – as they must – the new NDCs.

 

To give every government the chance to reap the benefits of clean, cheap renewables and a just energy transition, simultaneously accelerating the reduction of emissions…

 

And to enable all countries to protect themselves, and their people, from climate disaster. The central role of adaptation is always recognized.

 

On the other hand, a success is important to build trust between nations.

 

International cooperation – centred on the Paris Agreement – is indispensable to climate action.

 

Amidst geopolitical divisions and uncertainties, the world needs countries to come together here in Baku.

 

So, I appeal directly to ministers and negotiators: soften hard lines. Navigate a path through your differences. And keep your eyes on the bigger picture.

 

Never forget what is at stake.

 

This is a COP to deliver justice in the face of climate catastrophe…

 

To help move us closer to securing a decent world for all humanity. 

 

This is not a zero-sum game.

 

And finance is not a hand-out…

 

It’s an investment against the devastation that unchecked climate chaos will inflict on us all.

 

It’s a downpayment on a safer, more prosperous future for every nation on Earth.

 

And so we must make progress and we must use the progress we already made to to build upon. 

 

Last week, multilateral development banks announced a significant boost in climate finance for low- and middle- income countries. This will reach $120 billion a year by 2030 with another $65 billion mobilised from the private sector, with a natural projection that will increase these values for 2035.

 

And in September, countries agreed to the Pact for the Future. This contains important commitments on: access to finance; effective action on debt; and substantially increasing the lending capacity of the Multilateral Development Banks, making them bigger and bolder.

 

As you know this is a negotiation among Member States. I am not a negotiator myself as Secretary-General of the United Nations. But the COP Presidency has my full cooperation in its efforts to strike a deal – building on last week’s consensus on carbon markets, and the new national climate action plans some countries have already announced.

 

I urge every party to step-up, pick-up the pace, and deliver.

 

The need is urgent. The rewards are great. The time is short.

 

Thank you.