REACTION: Oxfam GB response to COP29 draft text

“COP29 must do more than simply repeat the same threadbare promises. The draft text scandalously misses the crucial element of declaring a clear public commitment to a new climate finance goal.

“If the UK government wants to be a leader on climate action, they now have little more than 24 hours to prove it. They must urgently push for a global finance goal of over £1 trillion in public finance to be largely provided in grants. They should also make good on previous commitments on loss and damage and ensure the new goal includes sufficient funding to support communities recovering from climate disasters.

“Rich countries most responsible for climate chaos have spent decades stalling and blocking genuine progress on climate finance leaving low-income countries suffering the most catastrophic consequences of a climate crisis they did not create.

“This is not charity – it is an established obligation under international law. It is the bare minimum needed to help shield frontline communities from devastation and limit global warming within 1.5C. The next few days are a credibility test for these climate negotiations and for COP itself. The time for stalling is over. If rich countries, including the UK don’t deliver, they will go down in history as having chosen profit over people and complacency over courage.”