The world’s poorest countries will receive a combined $300bn annually by 2035 to help them address the growing impacts of climate change, countries at the COP29 climate conference have agreed.
The new pledge, which followed 48 hours of intense bargaining between represented countries, represents a tripling of previous ambitions.
Developing countries have long called for greater financial assistance from richer nations to help them mitigate and adapt to climate change. This is because developed countries have been the primary contributors to greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution, while developing countries typically face the brunt of the worst impacts of the world’s changing climate.
But despite the enhanced pledges announced over the weekend, India’s representative Chandni Raina condemned the $300bn plan as a “paltry sum”. She said the funds would fail to “address the enormity of the challenge we all face”.
In June, the charity Christian Aid estimated that extreme weather...