Press release | First published: here | November 25, 2024
The derisory new climate finance target agreed at the close of COP29 in Azerbaijan will put the human rights of billions of people at risk and perpetuate global inequalities, Amnesty International said today. Following days of protracted and opaque negotiations in Baku, the conference ended yesterday with an agreement by high-income countries to mobilize USD300 billion annually by 2035, to help lower-income countries address the escalating climate crisis.
This is less than a quarter of the minimum amount demanded by many lower-income countries and activists.
“The world’s wealthiest countries have spent this year’s climate conference bullying lower-income countries into accepting a miserly finance agreement which could saddle them with huge debts. High-income countries and the Azerbaijan presidency are loudly congratulating themselves, but no amount of spin can hide the fact that this agreement is a disaster for the human rights of people and communities on the front line of proliferating climate impacts,” said Ann Harrison, Climate Justice Advisor at Amnesty International.
“Rather than moving towards a world where the human rights of all are protected from the harms of climate change, the outcome of COP29 gives the green light to profit-making business as usual. It will perpetuate the ongoing harms stemming from colonialism, and exacerbate the suffering caused by climate change. High-income countries are breaching their obligations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. This outcome will allow fossil fuel companies to continue sacrificing the human rights of countless people in their ruthless pursuit of profit.”
Many lower-income countries had called for at least USD1.3 trillion in annual public grant-equivalent finance, to help them adapt to climate change and recover from loss and damage. The deal reached at COP29 will do neither. Instead, it risks trapping lower-income countries in a cycle of indebtedness at a time when they are seeking to take urgent climate action.
COP29 also failed to make any progress on the critical issue of phasing out fossil fuels.
“We will not be able to address massive climate disruption, and its harm to human rights – including the right to life – without a full, fast, fair and funded phase out of fossil fuels,” said Carine Thibaut, Director of Amnesty ‘International Belgium’s Francophone section.
“It defies belief that many countries are still initiating new fossil fuel extraction projects. We urgently need a commitment by all countries to a rapid, human rights compliant phase-out of fossil fuels: this must be high on the agenda at COP30.”
Amnesty International also highlighted how new regulations on carbon markets which lacked robust human rights protections were adopted on the first day of COP29, before parties had time to properly consider them. Also alarming was the concerted effort by some parties to remove references to gender and intersectionality in many draft decisions.
Azerbaijani voices missing
Meanwhile, aspects of the negotiations themselves did not respect key human rights principles related to participation and transparency.
Many grassroots climate activists decided not to attend COP29 because of high costs and security concerns. Intense surveillance by Azerbaijani authorities led to heavy self-censorship among civil society, with many delegates reluctant to even mention the host country’s name for fear of reprisals.
Independent Azerbaijani voices were missing from the conference, with many activists and journalists either behind bars or in exile. The few who were granted official entry to COP29 told Amnesty International that they were afraid to speak on the conference site out of fear of reprisals. In contrast, there were more than 1770 fossil fuel lobbyists present, often with much greater access to the negotiating teams. The decisions taken at COP reflect this unequal access.
Amnesty International sought, but was not granted, access to imprisoned activists and journalists while its delegates were in Azerbaijan. Delegates also experienced restrictions on peaceful protests in the UN-controlled “Blue Zone”, which were exacerbated by the limitations of the venue.
“Despite everything, at the end of COP29 the mood among activists was defiant. The outcomes were crushing, but giving up is simply not an option,” said Ann Harrison.
“In 2024 every continent has felt the brutal effects of climate change. While negotiators were quibbling in Baku, in the Philippines, a string of powerful tropical cyclones forced thousands of people to flee their homes, while in Ecuador record wildfires razed massive areas of land. In the face of this mounting suffering, leaders of high-income states have violated their obligations to provide financial support to those in need: we will continue the fight and hold them to account.”