Developing countries want $2.4 trillion to address climate change

Developing countries have asked the developed world to raise climate change financing to $2.4 trillion per year.

The call was made during a high-level meeting with representatives of the G77 and China, Lead co-ordinators and sub-group chairs hosted by the International Migration Organisation (IOM) at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.

The meeting was organised to ensure that migration, displacement, and planned relocation are fully integrated into the COP 29 agenda.

Uganda, will include discussions on integrating migration into the global climate change agenda ahead of the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

IOM commended

Speaking at the event, Uganda ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Adonia Ayebare stressed the need for trillions of dollars in the years ahead to deal with climate change.

“The Paris Agreement which was signed and adapted in 2015, said after 10 years, the world will sit down and negotiate for financing for climate change. The main topic that will be a priority for the G77 & China at COP 29 will be financing developing countries and we hope this finance will be of scale and quality. It should be in trillions of dollars so that we address climate change,” Ayebare said.

Ayebare commended IOM for its instrumental role in responding to global crises and its support for the Kampala Declaration on Climate and Migration.

Under a UN accord adopted in 1992, a handful of countries deemed wealthy, industrialised, and the most responsible for global warming were obligated to provide compensation to the rest of the world.

In 2009, these countries, including US, the European Union, Japan, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand and Australia -- committed to paying $100 billion per year by 2020.

They only achieved this for the first time in 2022. The delay eroded trust and fuelled accusations that rich countries were shirking their responsibility.

Contribution to IDPs

Addressing guests during the event, Frantz Celestin, the IOM regional director for East, Horn, and southern Africa, noted that climate change is a threat which has contributed to the increasing number of internally displaced persons in the region and over 16 million people have been displaced in Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia alone.

According to Celestin, the Horn of Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate variability and climate change. The region regularly faces a wide range of natural hazards that lead to different forms of human mobility such as displacement, migration, returns and unplanned relocation.

“We are proud to support Uganda's leadership as Chair of the G77 and China. As global negotiations intensify ahead of COP 29, this meeting represents a vital opportunity for G77 and China members to ensure that climate-induced migration and displacement are prioritised, leading to meaningful, actionable outcomes for those most affected by climate change,”  Celestin said.

Celestin told the delegates that now is the time to recognise the growing impact of climate change on migration and take decisive action to ensure that climate migration is fully integrated into global climate policies, benefiting those most vulnerable to the worsening climate crisis.

In his statement, Sanusi Tejan Savage, the IOM Uganda chief of mission, said Uganda must champion sustainable development as a guiding principle, ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of our environment or the well-being of future generations.