COP29 decision text ominous and violating human rights

Reacting to this morning’s release of several draft decision texts at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Advisor, said that one of COP29’s top priorities was to secure an agreement on the provision of climate finance to the countries and communities on the frontlines of climate change. The draft text on the new climate finance goal – only released on the penultimate day of the summit – is an ominous sign that lengthy negotiations in Baku may fail to advance this critical objective. Even at this late stage, the text does not specify a minimum annual climate finance target, and it also allows for loans which risk deepening the debt crisis in low-income countries. It is an affront to human rights.

“At COP29, representatives of frontline communities have been sharing stories of displacement, food insecurity, air pollution, and disappearing coastlines. The response from high-income countries so far has been shamefully inadequate. As negotiators go back to the drawing board, we reiterate our call for high-income countries to commit to provide at least USD 1 trillion in grant-equivalent finance per year. They have a responsibility to help lower–income countries adapt to the harmful effects of climate change, recover from unavoidable harms, and make economy-wide just transitions away from fossil fuels,” Harrison noted.

Amnesty International also said that a draft text on gender and climate change is not fit for purpose, and called on states to ensure that previously agreed commitments to protect the rights of women and girls are not abandoned.