The European Parliament's environment committee has voted through a draft resolution urging countries to agree on a new collective goal for climate finance at the UN Cop 29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November.
Parliament's text calls for "innovative" sources of finance, similar to language used earlier this month by EU ministers when agreeing a general negotiating mandate for the summit. And the responsibility for delivering on the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for post-2025 should encompass a "broadened contributor base reflecting parties' evolving financial capabilities and historical emission levels", parliament said.
Parliament "insists" that emerging economies with high emissions and high GDP should contribute to the new goal, which is designed to be a successor to developed countries' existing commitment to providing $100bn/yr in climate finance over 2020-25.
The draft resolution also notes that the NCQG should clearly prioritise "grants-based finance", be socially fair and aligned with the polluter-pays principle, and ensure that the costs of climate change are borne by those with the greatest capacities. Parliament points to "potential financial contributions from the fossil fuel supply chain".
Cop 29 should also co-ordinate for an unambiguous signal on transitioning away from fossil fuels. And the resolution contains a call for the European Commission to work on expanding the scope of the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to more sectors, as well as encouraging the introduction of global carbon pricing.
While non-binding, parliament would have to approve any international treaty and detailed climate and energy legislation to achieve greenhouse gas emissions cuts. The resolution received a large cross-party majority in committee, indicating a smoother passage in parliament's plenary vote on the matter next month.
