Leaders of Civil Society from Most Vulnerable Countries (MVCs) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including the countries of South Asian region have said that around 300 million people, who are suffering food security around the world, need to adapt with climate change impact.
The South Asian CSO demanded a concrete commitment for "Ending Fossil Fuel" from the big emitters for a de-carbonized world in future.
At a press conference held in CoP 29 climate conference center at Baku in Azerbaijan during the ongoing Cop-29 Global Climate Conference, leaders of Civil Society from Most Vulnerable Countries (MVCs) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) placed the demand to global communities.
They also demanded 'A percentage of their GNI (Gross National Income)' for finalizing the New Collective and Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Finance for 2025-2030 period.
Representatives from various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) including Avishek Shrestha from DBI-Nepal, Soumya Datta from India and Tetet Neura Lauron from Rosa Luxemburg, Philippine, Thilak Kariyawasan from Sri Lanka and Mrityunjoy from Bangladesh participated and shared their insights.
In the keynote, Aminul Hoque from EquityBD, Bangladesh presented the civil society expectations.
Aminul Hoque said that global leaders continue failing their commitment with compliance in both mitigation and financing responsibilities and showing or come with new idea, vague solution those are creates obstacles and diluting MVCs priorities and demands. The proposed Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF) in CoP-29 negotiation such a "Vague Idea" which in fact to divert the core attention of demanding Trillion Dollar financing commitment from developed countries for NCQG.
He put key demands including developed countries must change their theory of diverting peoples' demand and give a real commitment in both mitigation and financing for next 10-year period 2025-35; a political declaration to be made by big emitters for ending fossil fuel by closing and phase out of all coal & fossil fuel-based power plants by 2040 to get impact by 2050. This declaration must be reflected in 'National Determined Contribution (NDC-3)' in 2025; the existing climate financing system is extremely unfair and debt-driven.
So that the NCQG must be designed through ensuring a percentage of GNI of developed countries. This fund will be delivered followed by sub-sector of NCQG like Adaptation, Mitigation, and capacity development of MVC and LDCs.
Thilak from Sri Lanka warned that the world with high temperature records at least 86 days exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels which in fact awful. Therefore, to get it back on track, global annual GHG emissions gap must be narrowed, and this will be possible by relentlessly strengthening mitigation action for this decade. In this context, CoP 29 must deliver a clear timeline for transitioning away from fossil fuels, leading to complete phase out and a clear reflection next in the NDC-3 in 2025.
Tetet criticize that the global public finance now itself at a crossroads due to private sector dependency and not participatory. IFIs and the global north governments must stop their overreliance on private sector and plan participatory with CBDR (Common but Differentiated Responsibility) principal.
She also criticizes the NCQG included the carbon trade to legitimize the private sector and their business. We urgently need public finance policy, priorities, and governance to push to a 1.5-degree aligned, just transition, rooted in collective wellbeing following global and local equity she demands.
Mrityunjoy opine that 300 million people are suffering food security around the world and these people need to adapt with climate change impact. We also protect the nature and align the new NDCs with Kunming- Montreal bio-diversity Protocol. Financing trillion dollars a year is not just a talk, the annex 02 parties can manage to mobilse more than five trillion dollars per year by revising and redirecting the unjust oil subsidies.
Soumya Datta said that, Azerbaijan has an opportunity to show genuine climate leadership learning from previous cop events and by focusing debate on the decarbonization dilemmas of Petro-states. Using UNFCCC dialogues Azerbaijan will take initiatives for exploring appropriate solutions. But we confused, seeing the existing Azerbaijan's current trajectory, this opportunity looks likely to be lost. He warns global leaders to a real outcome.
