A financial package for developing nations agreed at Cop29 has been described as a “death sentence for millions” and “woefully inadequate” by campaigners.
The 300 billion dollar (£239.5 billion) agreement, which is designed to help combat the impacts of global warming, was announced at the Cop29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Jasper Inventor, head of the Cop29 Greenpeace delegation, said: “The agreed finance goal is woefully inadequate and overshadowed by the level of despair and scale of action needed.
“The best and worst of multilateralism saw isolated blockers and difficult talks stymie change before a deal was brokered at the death knell.
“Our true opponents are the fossil fuel merchants of despair and reckless nature destroyers who hide snugly behind every government’s low climate ambition. Their lobbyists must be disallowed and leaders need to summon the courage to get on the right side of history.
“People are fed-up, disillusioned, but we’ll persist and resist because this is a fight for our future! We will not give up. As we look to Cop30 in Belem, we must hold on to hope – hope that is firmly anchored on people demanding climate ambition.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called the package a “critical 11th-hour deal at the 11th hour for the climate” as the conference drew to a close.
US President Joe Biden said that while “substantial work” remained to be done, the conference had set an “ambitious international climate finance goal”.
“While some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that’s under way in America and around the world, nobody can reverse it — nobody,” he said.
WaterAid described the deal as a “death sentence for millions” and labelled the sum a “mere fraction”.
Lesley Pories, lead policy analyst for water, sanitation and hygiene finance at WaterAid, said: “Failure to deliver on its most anticipated financial commitment at the so-called ‘finance Cop’ is nothing less than a death sentence for the millions on the climate front lines.
“While experts touted needs around one trillion dollars annually for the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), an agreement for 300 billion dollars was reached – a mere fraction of the finance we all know is desperately needed.
“From hurricanes and flash flooding to wildfires and worsening drought, the global water crisis is a growing tragedy. And for those picking up the tab for a crisis they did so little to create, the NCQG was a defining opportunity for world leaders to rebalance the scales, ramp up adaptation finance and prioritise investment in water, sanitation and hygiene.
“Instead, Cop29 has failed to set even the most basic targets for adaptation, turning what should have been a turning point for adaptation finance into a glaring example of climate injustice.
“Adapting to climate change is a matter for life or death for millions across the world and finance must be accelerated immediately to reflect this.
“It is deeply shameful that at Cop29 governments could not set aside their differences for the sake of the most vulnerable.”
A spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion said “Cop29 has failed”, adding: “The clue is in the name.
“Next year countries will try for the 30th time. What is clear is the era of oil and gas must end: fast, fairly and forever.
“While the fossil fuel industry thrives, billions suffer. Rich nations must stop imposing loans on the poorest who have done the least to get us where we are today, and instead provide grants. Anything less is a death sentence for the planet and people on it.”
Friends of Earth head of policy Mike Childs credited the UK delegation for playing a productive role during the talks, but still said that in terms of climate leadership, the planet is still “light years away from where we were” at last year’s meeting in Dubai.
“These latest international talks failed to solve the question of climate finance,” he said.
“Instead they have again kicked the can down the road. Developing countries are being hammered by climate extremes now, predominantly fuelled by the current and historic polluting activities of rich nations, like the UK.”