WWF urges countries to build momentum for a transformative new climate finance agreement

Governments should use the Bonn Climate Change Conference (3-13 June) to work towards a transformative new climate finance goal, and demonstrate progress toward new 1.5oC aligned national climate plans, according to WWF.

The conference brings together negotiators from around the world six months before the UN climate summit COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in November. This is a crucial moment for countries to build momentum towards key decisions that are needed in Baku, particularly agreeing a new climate finance goal to replace the previous US$100bn per annum target - a commitment that was only starting to be fulfilled in 2022, according to a recent OECD report. 

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead, and COP20 President, said: “Bonn is an important stepping stone to COP29, and should be used to lay the foundations for an ambitious new climate finance agreement. The measures needed to decarbonize every sector, conserve and restore nature, and to protect people from climate impacts, simply will not be possible without a significant and sustained uplift in finance from developed countries. If delivered on, an ambitious new finance agreement could trigger the step-change in global climate and nature action needed to avoid climate catastrophe and secure a safer, fairer and more prosperous future.”

In WWF’s COP29 Expectation Paper, the conservation organization also highlights the need for countries to double adaptation finance from 2019 levels by 2025 to meet the increasing need to protect against the worsening impacts from rising temperatures and extreme weather. The Loss and Damage Fund also requires substantially more funds for it to fulfil its purpose. 

With countries due to submit their next round of national climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions) in 2025, Bonn and COP29 will also be important moments for countries to bolster international cooperation and build towards new plans that can credibly reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, 60% by 2035 and net-zero by 2050. 

Fernanda Carvalho, WWF Global Climate and Energy Policy Lead, said: “With this new round of national climate plans, countries have an opportunity to course-correct and reset climate ambition and action in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Chief among the measures in these plans should be roadmaps to equitably phase out fossil fuels and replace them with 100% renewable energy. For developing countries, these plans can double as national investment plans, demonstrating how climate finance from various sources could power their sustainable development.”

WWF is also proposing that a new climate-nature workstream be established within the Paris Agreement architecture to help drive joint solutions to the climate and nature crises. Coordinating policies on addressing both issues is key if we are to maximize the benefits for people, climate and nature.

ENDS

NOTES

WWF’s COP29 Expectations Paper ‘Financing the Future: Unleashing Climate Action’ is available to download here

WWF’s Climate and Energy Policy Manifesto 2024 ‘Turning the tide on tipping points: Aiming higher, doing more and exploring synergetic solutions’ is available to download here

Find out more about WWF and COP29 here: wwf.panda.org/cop29