As deadline looms, divide over climate pact widens

A controversial proposal to count developing countries' domestic resources as part of climate finance has sparked fierce opposition

- Jayashree Nandi

A deep divide over climate finance erupted into the open on Thursday at the UN climate summit COP29, as developed nations and developing nations roundly rejected a new draft proposal that offered two starkly different options for funding climate action, leaving the talks in disarray with barely a day remaining.

A controversial proposal to count developing countries' domestic resources as part of climate finance has sparked fierce opposition, with India maintaining that any expansion of the contributor base or focus on private sector funding flows "are contrary to the mandate for the goal."

The 10-page draft, slimmed down from an earlier 25-page version, presents two starkly different approaches to the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, the deal at the heart of this year's talks. The NCQG refers to the next step of funding for climate crisis. While one option maintains traditional flows from developed to developing nations, the controversial alternative suggests counting "all sources of finance, including domestic resources" toward climate funding goals.