Jakarta – Minister of Environment and Forestry Hanif Faisol Nurofiq revealed that developing countries’ funding needs for climate action reach USD 1.3 trillion per year.
The COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, produced several new agreements, including climate finance commitments through the New Collective Quantified Goals (NCQG) scheme. However, the agreed figure of USD 300 billion per year until 2035 is still far from enough to meet the needs of developing countries facing the climate crisis.
“This figure shows that the NCQG commitment still has a big gap in supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation actions needed by developing countries,” Hanif said in a press release socialising the results of COP29 on Tuesday, December 10.
Hanif explained although the NCQG showed a significant improvement from previous commitments, many developing countries felt the decision was not ambitious enough. “Several countries, including India, formally objected to this decision in the last plenary. They considered that the source and scope of funding still did not meet the real needs of developing countries,” Hanif added.
In addition to the NCQG, COP29 produced several other important agreements. One of them strengthened mitigation programs through the Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Program and global adaptation commitments through the Global Goal on Adaptation.
“Indonesia welcomes the strengthening of this adaptation framework, but we must also ensure that funding for adaptation and mitigation is available on a large scale and on time,” Hanif explained.
The COP29 report also highlighted the operation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on cooperation mechanisms, including international carbon trading. Indonesia, according to Hanif, will optimise this opportunity. “We are committed to strengthening carbon trading while preventing potential ‘junk credits’ through strict national monitoring,” Hanif said.
As one of the developing countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, Indonesia plans to utilise the outcome of the COP29 decision to strengthen its domestic climate action. “We need to build a robust national financing mechanism while continuing to push for transparency and fairness in global financing,” Hanif emphasised.
He also emphasised that Indonesia should be more active in utilising carbon trading as one of the funding solutions without compromising environmental integrity. “It’s not just about achieving national targets but also ensuring that all our steps bring real benefits to people and the environment,” he concluded.
While the outcome of COP29 brings renewed optimism, much work remains to be done, especially in closing the climate finance gap for developing countries. “We need closer collaboration between developed and developing countries to ensure a sustainable future,” Hanif added. (Hartatik)
