UN climate chief asks G20 leaders for boost as COP29 finance talks lag
Business
UN climate chief asks G20 leaders for boost as COP29 finance talks lag
BAKU (Reuters) - The UN's climate chief called on leaders of the world's biggest economies on Saturday to send a signal of support for global climate finance efforts when they meet in Rio de Janeiro next week, to help trigger a deal at COP29 talks.
The plea, made in a letter to G20 leaders from top UN climate official Simon Stiell, comes as negotiators at the COP29 conference in Baku struggle for a deal intended to scale up money to address the worsening impacts of global warming.
"Next week's summit must send crystal-clear global signals," Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said in the letter.
He said they should support an increase in grants and loans, along with debt relief, so vulnerable countries "are not hamstrung by debt servicing costs that make bolder climate actions all but impossible".
Business leaders echoed Stiell's plea, saying they were concerned about the "lack of progress and focus in Baku".
"We call on governments, led by the G20, to meet the moment and deliver the policies for an accelerated shift from fossil fuels to a clean energy future, to unlock the essential private sector investment needed," a coalition of business groups said in a separate letter.
The groups included the We Mean Business Coalition, United Nations Global Compact and the Brazilian Council for Sustainable Development.
