COP29 talks extended as draft $250 billion finance offer flops

The draft proposes sourcing funds from 'public and private, bilateral and multilateral, and alternative sources.'

- Jayashree Nandi

The COP29 climate summit was extended by a day after developing nations reacted with fury to developed countries' proposal of $250 billion annual climate finance by 2035, calling it "a slap in the face" and far below their demand of $1.3 trillion, raising fears of a Copenhagen-like deadlock.

The first concrete numbers to emerge in the two-week negotiations came in Friday's draft from the COP29 presidency, which not only set a dramatically lower funding target but also controversially modified language around developed nations' obligations, suggesting they would merely "take the lead" rather than fully provide climate finance.

The draft proposes sourcing funds from "public and private, bilateral and multilateral, and alternative sources", while mentioning a broader but largely symbolic target of "all actors" mobilising $1.3 trillion annually by 2035.

"The quantum is an eyewash," said a developing country negotiator, noting the draft's deviation from Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates developed countries to provide climate finance.