COP 29: IFRC welcomes limited global agreement but stresses need for ‘action and delivery’

By the Climate Centre

IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain has said the success of the new global deal on climate finance, agreed at the eleventh hour at COP 29 in Baku, “will be judged by whether increased funds reach the communities that need them most, and by whether they reach them fast.”

Speaking in an IFRC press release today, he added: “Effective implementation is crucial [as is] delivery on what’s been promised. The agreement in Baku creates a pathway, but trust and action go hand in hand.”

Progress on operationalizing the fund for loss and damage was a step forward, but communities needed action and delivery and action now.

‘Trust and action go hand in hand’

In advance of the UN climate talks, the IFRC had called on decision-makers to prioritize action on health and well-being, investment in people and communities, and timing to enable humanitarian actors to get ahead of disasters.

It welcomed limited progress on each of these in the COP 29 decision text, the press release says, including another step forward on agreed indicators within the Framework for Global Climate Resilience of which health is one of seven key themes.

On investment, 300 billion US dollars a year by 2035 directly from developed nations for climate action in developing countries was an advance on the 100 billion previously agreed, but “ambitious action is needed soon and trust built”.   

And on the timing of action, “[m]ore must be done in advance to manage and reduce risks to build local capacities [with] early warning systems linked to early and anticipatory action, effective laws, policies, plans, frameworks and pre-arranged finance”.

The IFRC release concludes: “A concerted focus is needed to keep the planet below 1.5°C degrees of warming. If – or when – we pass this threshold, the humanitarian consequences will be dire.

“We must look forward to more ambitious mitigation action and updated national plans towards COP 30. Families and communities are already dealing with the very real impacts of climate change – let us build solidarity, trust and real urgency of action.”

IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain shares a high-level panel at COP 29 with WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo and others. (Photo: IFRC)