Cop 29 president seeks climate funds from oil producers

The UN Cop 29 climate summit's Azeri presidency plans to launch a climate fund, capitalised with voluntary contributions from oil, coal and gas-producing countries and companies, to support developing economies address climate change.

Cop 29 president-designate Mukhtar Babayev has called on contributors to "come forward with climate finance". The Cop 29 presidency is targeting $1bn in initial fundraising, and Azerbaijan will be "a founding contributor", it said. Azerbaijan said last week that it aims to increase its gas exports to Europe.

The fund — the Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF) — will be filled initially with voluntary contributions from fossil fuel-producing countries and companies, the Cop 29 presidency said. "Members will commit to transfer annual contributions as a fixed sum or based on volume of production," it added. The fund's board will include contributor representatives, the presidency said.

Half of the fund's capital will go to climate projects in developing countries, supporting renewable energy and adaptation — adjusting to the effects of climate change where possible. The remainder will help countries form their national climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — in line with the Paris climate agreement, the Cop 29 presidency said.

The CFAF aims to mobilise the private sector and de-risk investment, and "profits generated from projects will be reinvested in the fund", the presidency said. It plans to divert 20pc of revenues from investments to a facility "providing highly concessional and grant-based support", accessible to vulnerable countries experiencing the consequences of natural disasters, it added.

If operationalised, the fund would join the loss and damage fund in being reliant on voluntary contributions. Loss and damage refers to the unavoidable and irreversible effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels.

The call for fossil fuel producers to provide climate finance is not new. EU ministers at the Cop 27 summit in 2022 suggested that oil and gas companies should contribute to the loss and damage fund, then under discussion.

The Cop 29 presidency set out its plans for the summit alongside 13 other initiatives. These include a "green energy pledge", the signatories of which will "commit to green energy corridors, zones and grids", according to the presidency. It also named objectives to increase energy storage capacity to 1.5TW by 2030 and to address barriers to a global low-emissions hydrogen market.

Cop 29 is scheduled to take place on 11-22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan.

By Georgia Gratton