South Africa expects more pledges of climate finance at COP29

JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — South Africa expects more climate finance to be pledged at the United Nations’ upcoming global climate conference, the country’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George said on Monday.
George made the remarks here at the national stakeholder consultations on the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29), which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan from Nov. 11 to 22.
According to him, the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance will be set during the conference, which is a matter of great importance for developing economies like South Africa.
He noted the current climate financing mechanisms have proven insufficient in scale and effectiveness, highlighting the urgency for a new financing model.
“COP29 presents an opportunity to advocate for innovative and improved financial frameworks that can mobilize substantial resources more efficiently,” said George. “Such a model must ensure predictable, accessible, and adequate funding, and address the shortcomings of existing systems and empower countries like South Africa to implement ambitious climate actions.”
He explained that South Africa expects COP29 to accelerate the application of financial, technical and capacity-building resources that will enable developing countries to meet the conditional targets outlined in their nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans.
South Africa and other developing economies require resources to mitigate climate risks, enhance resilience, and pursue inclusive, sustainable development, said George.
“Access to finance must be significantly scaled up to offer new, additional, and predictable funding that is fit for purpose. Specifically, we need grants and highly concessional financing that can be effectively allocated to create enabling environments for rapid investments,” said the minister. “By de-risking investments and creating new asset classes for clean technologies, we can unlock and leverage greater amounts of public and private finance.” ■