By Caribbean News Global 
BAKU, Azerbaijan – I’m pleased to share our next quarterly update, highlighting key developments from July through September, and looking ahead to COP29 in Baku starting next week, announced Simon Stiell, executive secretary, UN Climate Change.
“With climate impacts inflicting growing human and economic costs in every country, every COP is a vital global moment that must deliver major progress, and COP29 is no exception,” the executive secretary continued. COP29 must be an enabling COP, delivering concrete outcomes to translate the pledges made in last year’s historic UAE Consensus into real-world, real-economy results.
“Finance is key among the outcomes needed this year, and it is entirely in every nation’s interest to ensure COP29 delivers an ambitious new climate finance goal. We can only prevent the climate crisis from decimating lives and livelihoods in every economy if every country has the means to take stronger climate actions, slashing emissions and building resilience in communities, infrastructure and supply chains,” Stiell added.
“COP29 must also deliver an ambitious set of outcomes on Article 6, and it must elevate the work every government is doing on the all-important policy instruments due under the Paris Agreement. By the end of this year: Biennial Transparency reports. By next year: National Adaptation Plans and much bolder new Nationally Determined Contributions.”
Stiell, executive secretary, UN Climate Change concluded saying, “ I urge any Party that needs help developing these documents to contact us for more information on the range of practical support and capacity-building available, and to use them to the fullest. As always – we are here to support you in this Party-led process. I look forward to seeing representatives of all Parties in Baku in the weeks ahead.”
An ambitious new climate finance goal
In Q3, Parties made headway on the new climate finance goal (the New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG). After three years of work, the mandated events of the ad-hoc work programme on the NCQG concluded at a series of meetings in September. Delegates found common ground on improving access to climate finance, reporting mechanisms, and actions to support implementation.
A high-level ministerial dialogue on the NCQG in October further paved the way for an ambitious outcome at COP29. As negotiators have grappled with issues around how to design the goal and the role of different stakeholders in implementing it, the dialogue allowed ministers to get up to speed on the key issues. Some issues are still to be decided: the structure of the goal and the quantum(s), who contributes to it and if certain categories of recipients should be prioritised, and if the goal will have specific targets for adaptation or for certain types of financial instruments.
The co-chairs of the ad-hoc work programme published their annual report, which includes the substantive framework of a draft negotiating text for the NCQG.
Earlier in Q3, the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) completed its technical work for 2023 and adopted four reports: the sixth biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows; the second report on progress on the USD 100 billion per year goal; the second needs determination report; and the report on common practices related to climate finance definitions, accounting methods and reporting practices. The second needs determination report – based on the costed needs of 98 Parties in their latest NDCs – noted a cost estimate across different time frames ending by 2030 in the range of USD 455–584 billion per year.
The SCF Forum, hosted by the Tanzanian government, focused for the first time on gender-responsive climate finance, and emphasized that advancing gender equality is fundamental to achieving climate resilience and the goals of both the Paris Agreement and the sustainable development agenda.
Also in Q3, the board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage selected the Philippines as its host country, with Ibrahima Cheikh Diong selected as the Fund’s inaugural Executive Director.
