Global Climate and Health Alliance demands $1tn in grants to protect health: COP29

(Baku, Azerbaijan) — The Global Climate and Health Alliance today called on wealthy countries to end their blockade of a climate finance deal as COP29 in Baku draws to an end.

The group urged developed countries to commit to providing at least $1 trillion of grants-based finance annually in order to protect people and their health from the worst impacts of climate change.

According to the statement made available to Gas Outlook, the group claimed that delegations including the U.S., EU, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, France, and Japan have been blocking a deal on climate finance. The group said that an investment-centric approach is required rather than the significant public grants and concessional finance they are obliged to provide, under article 9 of the Paris Agreement.

The group is a consortium of more than 200 health professional and health civil society organisations from around the world.

A key COP29 agenda item includes a decision that must be made on the so-called New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) — a major new climate finance commitment  to aid developing, climate- vulnerable countries in addressing the impacts of climate change on their populations’ health, infrastructure and economies.

Dr Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said that it is unconscionable that developed countries, including Canada, the U.S., Australia, the EU, Switzerland, France and Japan are blocking a deal on climate finance, or deflecting responsibility onto private financial entities.

“It is time to step up to your countries’ responsibilities to climate finance, as committed to under the Paris Agreement,” she said.

She further said that by delivering public finance in the form of grants, decision makers would be acting in the best interest of not only the people of developing countries but also of developed and wealthy countries themselves.

Jess Beagley, Policy Lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance noted that before COP29 ends, governments must agree to an ambitious and updated climate finance commitment, as in, the NCQG.

“Without adequate climate finance, climate action across sectors will not be viable, which would have catastrophic implications for human health. In addition, finance agreed on during COP29 must be predominantly based on grants and not loans to avoid perpetuating cycles of debt, poverty and disease.

“COP29’s decision on the NCQG will not only ultimately determine the summit’s success but will significantly determine the degree to which people’s health is protected by decision makers. This is the moment – leaders of developed countries must step forward to deliver adequate finance. Failure to do so will mean a death sentence for millions,” she added.

In a reaction, Dr Sindra Sharma, Senior Policy and Governance Advisor at the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, said the climate crisis is a public health crisis.with communities increasingly facing heat-related illnesses, mental health impacts, vector-borne diseases, food insecurity and malnutrition amongst other things. She noted that in addition, access and delivery of health-care is being disrupted.

“All this in a world that is fast approaching that critical 1.5C threshold which will only worsen impacts. Without progressive climate finance from developed countries of at least $1 trillion in public provision – that is just and of quality – we will not be able to limit warming to 1.5C and this fundamental threat to our right to health of current and future generations,” she urged.