The UN COP29 Climate Summit has been another disappointing affirmation of the status quo. The promised financing is pitiful — and the manner will increase the debt burdens of countries who are impacted the most yet who contributed the least to the climate crisis.
The unfair rules of the financial system need to be fixed in order to ensure that developing countries and vulnerable communities are able to access both public and private financing for a just transition. Private financiers who continue to pour trillions into fossil fuels should immediately stop investment in fossil fuel expansion. Carbon markets don’t address the underlying cause of climate chaos but enable polluters to dodge their obligations.
We need an absolute reduction in carbon emissions, a fair phase out of fossil fuels and polluters should pay for climate damage and for a just transition out of the trillions of extracted profit.
— Aditi Sen
Rainforest Action Network
Climate and Energy Program Director