Azerbaijan, set to host this year's U.N. COP29 climate summit, has altered its approach, abandoning earlier plans to propose a levy on fossil-fuel producers to raise climate-change funding. Instead, the country intends to introduce a new fund at the summit aimed at financing green investments in developing nations, according to a senior COP29 source speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source stated, “We had several rounds of engagements with the parties concerned – with the other potential contributors – and we needed to adjust the fund idea to make it also attractive for potential contributors.”
Azerbaijan plans to be a major contributor to the fund, which will also seek voluntary contributions from other fossil fuel-producing countries.
The revised proposal aims to establish the fund during the COP29 summit in November, leveraging public-private partnerships to mitigate investment risks and support emissions reduction efforts in developing countries grappling with climate impacts.
The initiative comes amid global concerns that poorer nations face significant barriers in attracting investments for clean energy projects, exacerbated by high interest rates and domestic debt burdens.
Africa, for instance, has received a mere 2% of global investments in renewable energy over the past two decades, according to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Finance is expected to be a central theme at the COP29 climate talks in Baku, where countries will seek to reach consensus on a new global target for climate finance transfers from wealthy to poorer nations, beginning in 2025.
